Daryl Groetsch - Gardens in Glass (2023)

Gardens in Glass showcases slowly unfurling synths that rarely if ever approach what could be called a “melody,” remaining instead in the gray area in which each harmonic flourish appears and then swirls through the mix with time-dilating patience. Groetsch tempers his legible synth output with washes of pure texture, from fine-grain static rushes to percolating bubble-like patches to standing walls of wind-swept pads. His attention to tonal detail, conveyed in dynamic filtering and subtly fluctuating levels of fidelity, grabs our attention even as his compositions invite us to drop out of reality as their layers gradually swell in and out of sight.