Jatun

Jatun brings to mind a method of making computer music that’s idiosyncratic yet completely natural. With lush, lo-fi loops and digital drums scarce enough to invoke a dreamier, upbeat "Piggy,” "Ghost and Grey” opens nine inches more nostalgic than lethargic, while "Ghost and Grey 2” breaks somewhat of a Postal Service/emo mood with "hands in your pocket waiting for a bus on a loveless Valentine’s day” pangs of rhythm spangled key-dancing. In stark contrast, "Ion Crush (remix)” takes two full minutes to evolve from barely audible chords, pulsing in thirds, to a swirling blizzard of static. Batting cleanup, the operatically pop arrangement of "Zombie Hotel,” mixed with ghostly crooning, betrays the duo’s debt to ’80s alternative pop before breaking into a reprise and going all "Biko” in a hushed refrain. The album goes in and out of riffs, tunes and grooves, rarely missing a beat without making up for it vigorously just as you notice the loss. It’s almost too natural, as if these compositions were due to come out sometime, eventually. Jatun’s soused out their personal style into the realm governed by natural standards of beauty. They’ve shown they know how to do what they do wll. Now it’s a question of what they can learn to do better than the rest.