Gift Songs

Though composer/multi-instrumentalist Jefre Cantu-Ledesma has been active for multiple decades with a wide range of bands, projects, and aliases, some of his most beautiful work has been the straightforward, organically intoned ambient work hes made under his own name. The fuzzy shoegaze-inspired dreamworlds of his 2010s output softened into more pastoral richness on releases like 2019s Tracing Back the Radiance, and the same hovering elegance that defined that album is refined and expounded upon with the five-part suite Gift Songs. The albums opening track, "The Milky Sea," establishes Cantu-Ledesmas innate ability to create music so subtle that it shifts and reshapes itself many times over without ever overtly announcing any of its changes. Clusters of piano notes flutter around softly to begin the song, and theyre soon joined by rolling percussion, gentle electronic drones, and other instrumentation that sounds like distant rain. All of these sounds seem poised to slowly build into a dynamic swell of some kind, but they never do. Instead, the changes happen in small compartmental movements within the song. The drums feel more in focus for a moment, or the piano goes away just long enough for its return to feel profound. Elements dissolve and reappear, but the balance of sound and motion stays the same throughout. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of "The Milky Sea" is its time-suspending power, as the track runs for over 20 minutes but feels like it lasts either a few minutes or an entire afternoon depending on the listeners mood. The arrangement shakes up at about the 15-minute mark, melting into a din that could be either an organ drone or metallic guitar feedback. The next three tracks, "Gift Song"s I, II, and III, are more minimal. Pump organs and acoustic piano move around each other softly, rarely locking into patterns for too long. "River That Flows Two Ways" returns to the density of "The Milky Sea," only this time using multiple droning instruments to create a vast, oceanic ambience that feels calming or disquieting as the piece plays out. Gift Songs holds the kind of immersive, naturalistic beauty that Cantu-Ledesma has been making his own on his more sculpted, reined-in albums. Its gorgeously enveloping, creating the kind of sonic blanketing perfect for deep contemplation, meditative observation, or floating on whatever wavelength you choose. ~ Fred Thomas