Matt Christensen/ Circle Bros

For most people, Matt Christensen is probably best known as the founder/singer/guitarist of Zelienople, the band from Chicago that spoiled us slow, atmospheric vaguely rock-oriented music for well over a decade. But the past few years, Christensen has been working on an impressive oeuvre of solo material as well, brought to us on quality labels like Under The Spire, Miasmah, and his own bandcamp for a lot of download-only releases. Since Matt's characteristic voice and guitarplaying define the sound Zelienople for an important part, that band is of course a valid reference point for his solo work too. However, his solo output is -in general- more delicate, sparse, eerie and straightforward. Imagine Roy Montgomery joining 'Laughing Stock'-era Talk Talk, working on a Twin Peaks-soundtrack. Circle Bros is the project of Wim Lecluyse, the man behind Morc Records. The past few years Circle Bros shifted from a pure ambient-esque project to a more song-oriented unit, though most songs are built up around an improvised core. That is definitely the case for these recordings. At the end of a long improvisation session in Strasbourg, some parts grew together into a minimal guitar structure, resulting in these two pieces. This EP is a lot more stripped down than the last two Circle Bros albums, that both were released on Three:Four Records from Switzerland. Pressed on high-quality German clear vinyl, and all sleeves are screenprinted by hand on sturdy chipboard paper. Complete with download coupon, in an edition of just over 100 copies. Recommended if you like Zelienople, Talk Talk, Roy Montgomery, Hala Strana, Grouper, pop-oriented ambient.