Pan American The Patience Fader

Kranky

Known for his role in US post-rock outfit, Labraford, Mark Nelson has been experimenting as Pan American since 1997. His latest release, on long-time home Kranky, is a highly atmospheric and deeply intimate collection of experimental, instrumental solo guitar compositions. The guitar sketches are elegant, stretched out pieces that conjure up a wistful, melancholic feel throughout the record. The pieces are then augmented by lap steel, harmonica motifs and a clutch of fuzzy, hazy atmospheric electronics. The stripped back and bare aesthetics of the album and the smudged atmospherics and smeared strings immediately transport you to a barren, winter landscape in the American rust belt. But such is Nelson’s skill, that beacons of warmth and light creak through the heavy fog and illuminate the record with a sense of calmness and humility. Windswept swells of guitar feel reflective and intimate, like memories drifting into the mind and then wafting off again just as quick. That lulling and lilting is a theme of this beautiful, emotive album.

ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST:

Swimming in a Western Hotel, Harmony Conversion, Night Water

8/10