Guillermo Herren created the material for
Forsyth Gardens and
Every Color of Darkness, a pair of EPs, during the six months that followed his submission of the
Rivington Não Rio album. This EP was the last of the three to be issued, though they all hit within a period of three months. Across eight tracks that transpire in 20 minutes, what is technically the
Rivington follow-up moves away from "proper" songs and reverts to samples, or voices made to sound like samples. These are hardly leftovers from Herren's spate of 2015 additions to the Temporary Residence label catalog. Some of the series' most pleasing sounds are tucked away in here. True to GSH form, they're so transient that they can sneak past less attentive listeners. "Night of the Light" alone contains several delights, like a buzzing bassline vamp and a darkly twinkling keyboard sequence hypnotic enough to carry a track several times its length. An echoed thwack signals its end well short of the three-minute mark. "Search the Sky," "The Contour of Every Pitch," and "Prime Meridian Narcissism" likewise offer moments that can thump chests and tickle ears. They're all liable to appeal to those whose minds are prompted to wander whenever Herren gets clutter crazy, but they're still intricate enough to stupefy those who have been on board since 2000. ~ Andy Kellman