GNAC

Mark Tramner is the very epitome of having many irons in the fire. In addition to releasing instrumental albums under the guise of Gnac (which is pronounced like the latter two thirds of cognac...), he is also part of the Montgolfier Brothers, has recently been collaborating with ex-Pale Saint Ian Masters in Wingdisk, and he has also recorded under his own name too. Twelve Sidelong Glances is Gnac’s fourth album and is a hard album to find fault with. Tranmer has the ability to write great little tunes that make for good background music, but there is not much here that could be described as commercial. It wouldn’t be too hard to imagine many of the tracks finding a home as theme music on more sophisticated television shows, thanks to their atmospheric qualities. While the album kind of drifts by effortlessly, there’s no denying Tranmer’s talent — he plays all the instruments on Twelve Sidelong Glances and is equally at home playing jazz on a piano as he is picking out delicate Durutti Column-esque guitar lines. Twelve Sidelong Glances is a pleasant record that sounds like a very good easy listening compilation, with a wealth of different moods and styles represented. It might not be the kind of album that gets listened to on a daily basis, but there will be occasions when it is hard to imagine a better soundtrack than this.