On his second album for the
Dead Oceans label, former
Emeralds member and multi-instrumentalist
Mark McGuire continues to reference the ambient music of the '70s, but art and indie rock need to be mentioned as well.
My Bloody Valentine fans can blissfully drift to the shoegazing "Sons of the Serpent," which also utilizes the same guitar processing favored by
Roxy Music's
Phil Manzanera.
Eno's pop records also come to mind, and those '70s dots continue to connect the sounds to
Deuter on the bubbling, bright, almost new age songs like the 15-minute "The Past Presents the Future." The mammoth "Earth: 2015" brings darker tones like
Pink Floyd's "Embryo" and offers a highlight song that starts off dissonant, and then somehow sorts itself while growing stronger and more complex. "True Love (Song for Rachel)" mixes glitch, Krautrock, and indie vocals into a track that infers
Can formed a supergroup with
Ride and then were signed to
Kitty-Yo, and while all these familiar sounds suggest what's inside his record collection, the flowing melodies and loose song structures are uniquely
Mark McGuire, just as they were when he worked with
Emeralds. Returning fans won't be disappointed, while newcomers with a taste for blissful journeys will likely be entranced. ~ David Jeffries
