This is first pairing of Portland-based sound artists Marcus Fischer + Burke Jam. Its varying shades of distilled light is haunting right from the top of their Cold Open. For some reason, maybe its the regional reference, this offers a glimpse towards the outermost Pacific Northwest, the brisk and open, yet rugged coastline. They have concocted a watery grey scape filled with small tears in the surface, offering something of quiet power and haunting fragility. There’s a wide expanse of breadth on the title track, as well as an undercarriage of fuzzy reverb, this all amidst what sounds like a field expedition. As small branches crack and mysterious chirps enter as do tiny tones like elusive dots just beginning to form and speckle the air. As one drops deeper into these resonances it sounds like they are using gongs/metal bowls to make these glassy, dreamy harmonies. On the final piece, Detritus, they incorporate a set of subliminal waves, both real and synthetic, that evaporate like deteriorated loops.
— TJ Norris, Toneshift