Mist starts out in the best way possible. You’re immediately treated to a spastic, electronic version of ‘the rubber band’ from early Bugs Bunny cartoons. Then you hear the giant swells you’d expect from a member of Emeralds (John Elliot) and fellow komische revivalist Sam Goldberg. Despite this being meditative music, it moves quickly, never lingering too long.
A rhythm, however slight, moves all six of these tracks forward. They work on a large scale and often repeat central themes. Slowly they expand the template and size of each song. Eventually you get to the excellent one-two punch of the finale pieces. “Dead Occasion/Ovary Stunts” works cyclically with the beginning of the album. You’re re-introduced to near-percussion just as things begin to feel unreasonably loud. “P.m.”, works with deeper sounds. Here they work to create a sense of wonder before introducing the rhythm of the piece.
Spectrum Spools has proven itself to be fairly reliable in their releases. Thankfully their North American counterpart has proven itself worthy of Editions Mego’s considerable help. Mist more than exceeds my expectations. Perhaps even more than the previous releases, this is an extremely easy release to enjoy. If you want to ease someone away from krautrock into ambient, this would be an ideal starting point.