Jordan Reyes - Sand Like Stardust (Black Vinyl)

“I envisioned the record as a journey through human expression over the course of one day,” says Chicago composer and ONO member Jordan Reyes, musing on his sophomore album Sand Like Stardust. When planning the album, Reyes wanted to consider the trajectory of American music, drawing a throughline from the oral traditions enmeshed in blues, country, folk to contemporary underground music, splicing together acoustic instrumentation with an experimental, electronic sensibility. As such, the album begins with the first instrument - human-constructed wind - the sole sound source on opening song “The Pre-Dawn Light,” which invites the listener in with layered voice and whistling. From there, Reyes adds acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lap-steel guitar, trombone, keyboards, and an electronic drum to the compositional mix.“I wanted to push myself compositionally,” he says. “My first album Close was all eurorack synthesizer, a lot of which was automated by control voltage, but Sand Like Stardust has no modular synthesizers, seeking to channel the warmth, immediacy, and vulnerability of hand-played instruments and voice.” The album goes through the course of the day, arriving at “Centaurus,” a synth-driven send-off, and the sole composition with lyrics, reinterpreting the classic lullaby “Mockingbird.” Along the way, the listener passes through dusty lap-steel ballads like “High Noon,” propulsive, lightly-orchestrated nuggets a la “A Hard Ride” and “A Grain Of Sand,” and invigorating, slowly-metamorphosing cuts like “Rebirth At Dusk.”