Interior of an Edifice Under the Sea＜限定盤/Clear Vinyl＞

Pan•American (Labradfords Mark Nelson) and Shimmy Disc founder Kramer have always been prolific, collaboration-friendly artists, but both have been especially productive during the 2020s, focusing on ambient music that often leans toward cosmic Americana. Interior of an Edifice Under the Sea is their second album together, appearing just over a year after 2024s Reverberations of Non-Stop Traffic on Redding Road. Unsurprisingly, its in a similar vein, exploring murky, slowly drifting guitar-based drone. The music befits the albums underwater theme, with the swaying loops and gently trippy echo of opener "In the Time It Takes to Drown" bringing to mind a submarine voyage deep beneath the surface. Some tracks have clear guitar melodies, like the comforting "Under the Mariana Trench," while others are more submerged, with the guitars on "If a River Runs Through It" seeming to swim through pleasantly rippling synths. "John the Baptist Was a Creature of Habit" is freer and more ethereal, eventually becoming glazed over with guitar feedback, while "Lamenting the Colours of Me" is suitably melancholy, with dark currents and sweeping melodies expressing undersea pathos. The album never rises to the surface, preferring to dwell deep beneath, but it finds its peace through patient, concentrated isolation. ~ Paul Simpson