Phet Phet Phet: Shimmer LP

Shimmer's tones are unexpected, the combinations of instruments far off the beaten trails of familiar genres. It's not quite jazz, not quite neoclassical, not quite soul, but something all its own. Saxophone, clarinet, glockenspiel, cello, pedal steel, synths, guitar & human voice merge in ethereal counterpoints that nod to chamber music, while the rhythm section drives the whole thing forward with an uncanny propulsion that feels cool, self-possessed and hyper contemporary. All the while Shimmer makes sure to keep one foot outside of time—stepping alone toward the ageless inward horizion. Its A-side contains four tightly orchestrated tracks recorded in Mexico City in 2023; the B-side is a single long experiment in texture, which Jarrett Gigore began writing at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and finished remotely in 2023.

Think Jacques Brel's "Je suis un soir d'ete." Think Chicago fusion a la Tortoise. Think the wall-of-sound production of David Axelrod. Think Steve Reich's organs in polyrhythm. Think Arthur Russell's neo-classical Tower of Meaning. Think them all at once, then forget all that and open yourself to something new.

Features Mabe Fratti on vocals, cello; I. La Catolica on electric & acoustic guitar, bass, percussion; Marc Miller on electric & acoustic guitar; Gibran Andrade on drums; and Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar.

Pressed on 180-gram marigold yellow vinyl.