ORCHARD THIEF- ‘The Gentle World’
Sam Molstad has a way with titles. Over the past decade he’s used words from science and nature to label his self-produced sounds and they so often make perfect sense. ‘Ascending the Hill, ‘Off to Sea’, ‘Stasis in Green’. Even if you haven’t heard any of his previous outings under the Orchard Thief moniker then the name of the first track here, ‘Workingman’s Eno’, might be all you need to know. ‘The Gentle World’ is 35 minutes of slow undulating synths, breezy ambience, soft percussion, sparse, faraway vocals, and what sounds like the chirpiest trumpet solo ever. It’s in debt to Brian Eno, of course. It’s also the sweetest thing Molstad has ever done. It’s hedgerow pop, a whisper in the wind, watercolour bliss. There is a little melancholy here, but much more peace, quiet, and calm. A gentle world indeed.
