Moderate Rock

I could rant and I could rave. “Buy this album,” I could yell, caps lock jammed down. But that’s not what ‘Centres’, the latest work of art by Vancouver native Ian William Craig, would want. This is a precious whisper of an album, see, a magnetic and masterful but almost always quiet and careful record. There are waves and swirls of synthesizer and piano, powerful spaces of almost-quiet, warping electronics, and Craig’s angelic voice, sometimes distorted but mostly left alone to break your heart. No shouting. This could be a movie soundtrack if a movie had ever been made beautiful enough to match it. Repeated listens reveal more and more but there is so much going on here, over such a long time, that ‘Centres’ feels like it will always be a deep, daunting experience. If it was half as long it would be essential listening for all future generations. As it is, it’s merely one of the albums of the year.