Articles
2013 Top 10s & 20s
The Knells' The Knells
Spotlight 11

Albums
John Luther Adams
Arovane
Astro Sonic
Avatism
Cakewalk
Mark Cetilia
Ulises Conti
Stephen Cornford
Exercise One
Stavros Gasparatos
Huntsville
itsnotyouitsme
Rael Jones
Jubei
The Knells
Letna
Lord Echo
Selaxon Lutberg
Martin & Berg
Josh Mason
Mem1
Ron Morelli
Nuage
Oiseaux-Tempête
One Far West
Orange Yellow Red
Piano Interrupted
Oleg Poliakov
Recondite
Saffronkeira + Massa
Scarlet Youth
Shifted
Silencio
Burkhard Stangl
Talvihorros
Peter Van Hoesen
Vatican Shadow

Compilations / Mixes
EPM Selected Vol. 2
My Love For You Is Analog.
OFF To ADE 2013
Scope
Tempo Dreams Vol. 2
Transit 2

EPs / Cassettes / Singles
Dalot
Elika
Fighting Lion
Kyle Fosburgh
Fre4knc / Nuage
Rezo Glonti
Halvtrak
Ishan Sound
Jacksonville
Lullatone
Pennygiles & Phil Tangent
Dominic Petrie
Response
Sontag Shogun
Strategy
Thrash Pilot

Lullatone: Falling for Autumn EP
Lullatone

First there was Summer Songs and now there's Falling for Autumn—which I guess means that Chilling for Winter and Springing for Spring can't be far off. All kidding aside, Lullatone's follow-up to the earlier Summer Songs isn't as autumnal in spirit as one might expect from a fall-themed release. Eschewing the customary wistfulness associated with the passing of carefree summer days, Shawn James and Yoshimi Seymour's new collection joyfully celebrates the small day-to-day pleasures of the fall season. A quick scan of song titles such as “Here Comes the Sweater Weather” and “The Biggest Pile of Leaves You Have Ever Seen” confirms as much, while the Seymours even find cause for joy in the start of a new school year (“New Stationery for a New Semester”). They've even helpfully suggested the collection might be used as a nice soundtrack for things like “watching a cup of hot tea steam up a friend's glasses” and “choosing a rake over a leaf blower.”

Many of the ten songs are of the blink-and-you'll-miss-it variety, and Shawn and Yoshimi—the former credited with “making music and breakfast” and the latter “singing a little bit and making lunch and dinner”—squeeze a lot of detail into the EP's twenty-four-minute running time. Lullatone's world consists of giddy, wide-eyed vignettes filled with woodwinds, strings, acoustic guitars, glockenspiels, and pianos, and as far as the Seymours are concerned, “Just Walking Around” can be fun, too, especially when it involves trudging through a thick pile of leaves. Highlights include the wondrous “New Stationery For a New Semester,” which sparkles with mellotron- and harpsichord-styled patterns, and gleeful jaunts like “Seasonal Produce” and “The Biggest Pile of Leaves You Have Ever Seen,” whose sing-song melodies'll have you whistling along whether you want to or not.

December 2013