The first U.S. release from Danish artist
Manual
(
Jonas Munk
) is a soothing work of
ambience
that combines the sounds of both terrestrial and extraterrestrial origins. A perfect fit for
NPR
's
Hearts of Space
,
The North Shore
abandons
's guitars and percussion, focusing on minimal tones with subtle changes. The two tracks with
Jess Kahr
(who works with
Munk
in the
post-rock
project
Limp
) do little to differentiate themselves from the rest, instead merely adding a few quiet textures.
"Always Alone"
implies the sound of a satellite lost in orbit and sending out a signal, before gentle waves flow at the end.
"1986,"
with chimes in the foreground, has a trance-like power when combined with soft tones that linger in the background.
"Burn,"
a ten-minute journey of dark, icy synths, wanders and wanes while muted crickets become nicely comforting. Finishing with the suitably titled
"It's Night on Planet Earth...and We Are Alive,"
establishes a wondrous recording that is ideal with headphones at dawn. ~ Kenyon Hopkin