Monoceros: Tales For Silent Nights
Fueradeserie! / Imaginary Nonexistent Records

The second album by Monoceros (St. Marti d'Empúries resident Joan Malé) is jointly issued by Fueradeserie! and Imaginary Nonexistent Records but might just as naturally have come by way of n5MD, so similar in style it is to the kind of vivid, emotive electronic music the latter's been issuing of late. Tales For Silent Nights is old-school IDM if you will, dominated by melodic compositions that recall earlier days when groups like Autechre still hewed to relatively straightforward compositional structures and chiming melodies. Tales For Silent Nights is abstract, yes, but invitingly so, and irony-free too with artfully sculpted pieces like “<< (The Big Wave),” “Warm,” and “Happiness” sonically true to their titles. Sometimes ponderous and brooding (“Off (Tales)”) though more often than not enveloping and lush (“Northern Lights”), Monoceros's release is equally pretty and picturesque.

January 2007