Benoit Pioulard Listening Matter, The

Dreamy, gauzy, grainy, melancholy folk-pop miniatures. This is a switch for Tom Meluch, who in the last year and a half has released several hours of windswept, resorative drone, with his Sonnet LP as the capstone. (Sonnet was far and away my favorite record of 2015.) He’s made several pop records, but this one’s much more economical, tense, and aggressive. I’m tempted to call this his punk record. Favorites: 2, 3, 10, 11, 13. FCC WARNING: 12.

1. (1:34)—Bright, noisy drone.
2. *(3:01)—Slow, limpid folk. Nice clicking percussion.
3. *(2:00)—Fast, sparkling, peppy pop. Half-spoken singing.
4. (0:45)—Field recording. Bird song and acoustic guitar.
5. (2:20)—Mid-tempo, swaying folk. Resigned harmonies.
6. (3:12)—Mid-tempo, placid, with rolling, muted percussion.
7. (1:19)—Mid-tempo, garage pop feel.
8. (1:03)—Loud, intense drone.
9. (1:14)—Fast, frantic, screeching birds, chiptune noises.
10. *(3:17)—Mid-tempo, rolling, pretty, longest song here. Almost danceable.
11. *(1:46)—Warm, gorgeous, grainy drone.
12. (2:25)—FCC (f***). Medium-fast, bouncy pop with hand-claps.
13. *(2:04)—Woozy, dramatic, warbling drone. Deep bass.