This World in Bloomington, MN

This World
is the first output from Louisville, Kentucky-based
Watter
, a trio made up of
Grails
member
Zak Riles
, multi-instrumentalist
Tyler Trotter
, and drummer
Britt Walford
, best known up until this point for his contributions to the legendary and ever-mysterious
Slint
. Released in 2014,
is the first rustle of noise heard from
Walford
since
's abrupt evaporation nearly 20 years prior, and there are some echoes of his tenuous rhythms in the six instrumental landscapes that make up
's debut. Beginning with the clinical synths of "Rustic Fog," the band sets out on a journey of sonic shifts, marked by hints of Louisville's rich history of independent instrumental music. Standout track "Lord I Want More" begins with some of the same wandering pastoral folk guitar that
would get into during their more folky moments and is slowly joined by haunting piano from
Rachel's
player
Rachel Grimes
. The song is held up by strains of synths and naturally dissolves into a bath of muffled analog tape sounds and otherworldly ambience. Former
bassist
Todd Cook
shows up to add bass to the dark tabla-driven rhythms of "Seawater" and former
King Crimson
Tony Levin
even makes a guest appearance on the epic groove of "Small Business." By and large,
is a slow-burning, rocking beast, augmented at times by softer sections of gentle pseudo-classical and traditional folk-blues. The album plays on the strengths of its players without trying to re-create the incalculable magic of any of their other projects. Instead,
set out on an exploratory path all their own, reflecting deeply in the form of both rowdy exclamations and hushed looks inward. ~ Fred Thomas