Hey before we begin: FREE SHOW at the Empty Bottle here in Chicago this coming Monday, Sept. 21st. Hélène Barbier (Montreal), National Photo Committee, Answering Machines and me, playing music more suited to a wholly different show. I only DJ when asked, and I was asked, and you’re asking for it. Come say hello if you can.

TROTH The Limits of a Light Touch LP (Dearest Latest, through Altered States Tapes)

Somewhat of a corner turn for Australian duo Troth, their weighted blanket of soft ambient gardery now draped over actively composed pop pieces that maintain the otherness of their previous works and balance it with the more direct paths carved in side project Th Blisks. Recent efforts have pointed this way but there’s a lot more structure this go-round, strains of melody and texture pulling this one out of the ether into the merely ethereal, like if Blues Control happened in the ‘90s. It’s great, eminently listenable in foreground or background, and should get more of you on board.

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