Down Beat Magazine
10/04
Jon Andrews

Mount Analog is a workshop for drummer/producer Tucker Martine's expressionistic, ambient collages. A world apart from Martine's work with Wayne Horvitz's 4 + 1 Ensemble and Julian Priester/Sam Rivers, New Skin's quirky constructions suggest a late-night transmission from an imagined radio station or a soundtrack to unsettling dreams.

Wistful melodies for guitar, brass and strings phase in and out of quiet drones and haunted spaces. On "Bell & Howell", the nostalgic sound of Doug Wieselman's clarinet gives way to contemporary drums and bass. Martine claims film music and Morton Feldman as influences, though you might also hear Daniel Lanois and George Martine in the mix. His impressive production work emphasizes depth of field and dynamic range. His spare arrangements use electronics primarily for texture and effects, placing familiar sounds of harmonica or Eyvind Kang's violin in the forefront. "Night night" juxtaposes Steve Moore's piano musings with distant drones and eerie sampled sounds. "Gospel Melodica" hints at electronica before morphing into a stately processional led by Bill Frisell's guitar and Kang's viola. Like a dream, Mount Analog's cryptic music follows its own idiosyncratic logic.