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01. Josh Mason - An anxious host is described
02. Josh Mason - A grift is detailed
03. Josh Mason - One man's trash is another man's garbage
04. Josh Mason - Skull of Cortázar
05. Josh Mason - The aftermath of post office arson is described
06. Josh Mason - The sunken cost is detailed
07. Josh Mason - Goes reptile
08. Josh Mason - The other side of the coin of the confession of the medievalist
09. Josh Mason - Cart dog
10. Josh Mason - Tired to the bone
11. Josh Mason - Spanish House is described
ARTIST
TITLE
An Anxious Host
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
SOD 134LP SOD 134LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
8/18/2023

Since the early 2010s, Josh Mason has slowly amassed an enchanting discography, publishing recordings on labels such as Florabelle, Dauw, Longform Editions, and his retired Sunshine Ltd. imprint. Whether focusing on electric guitar or modular synthesizer, Mason approaches his music with intentionality, tenderness, and a keen ear for detail, resulting in an exceptional and enduring oeuvre. His workmanlike approach to craft and monomaniacal interest in circuit design culminated in 2021's Utility Music, a daunting book/CD project that documents and unpacks a yearlong exploration of a Doepfer A-100 Eurorack system. The irony of such a project is that it might lead listeners to believe that academic technique and synthesis technology are the animating principles of his practice, but the reality is that this is only part of the story. Listening to Mason's music one gets the sense that, like a good novelist, he truly cares about his characters, which take the forms of the textures and timbres of archaic wavetable oscillators, idiosyncratic filters, pulverized samples, and exotic noise sources. An Anxious Host feels like a pivotal release in Mason's catalog. It's his first vinyl outing since 2019's astounding Coquina Dose, and it may be the most succinct and potent album he's made. The track titles function like stage directions in a play, intimating a hazy, filmic narrative populated by schemers, dreamers, and lost souls. As ever with Mason's work, place is paramount, and this record is thoroughly shot through with the humidity, warmth, and "end of the line"-ness of the state of Florida. Seasick swells and sunken melodies; swampy, sputtering loops; sonic flotsam pooling together and flowing out, beckoning the listener to come have a soak. Edition of 300; includes download code.