Multi-instrumentalist Nathan Bowles blends traditional picking with aspects of ambient and minimal new music. He adds piano, percussion and voice to lengthy compositions that fit neatly into the pigeonhole of folktronica, with an ancient droning quality that echoes the mountain passes that gave birth to America’s pre-bluegrass folk music centuries ago. On “Golden Floaters/Hong Jank” long sitar-like sustained notes float over slow claw-hammer rhythms to lull you into a bluegrass reverie that suddenly devolves into a slide-guitar-driven solo full of brittle, skewed picking.
“The Smoke Swallower” is an ominous piano and percussion piece where Caribbean-flavored banjo runs suggest a haunted steel drum, while the medley of “Jonah/Poor Liza Jane” is more traditional in approach with raspy vocals and old-time, free-form frailing.