Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

A Year With 13 Moons

BY Bryon HayesPublished Feb 6, 2015

8
It's strange to think that it's been nearly five years since Jefre Cantu-Ledesma released Love is a Stream, his previous solo full-length LP. That album's blend of careening noise and angelic bliss feels almost timeless; it's certainly as enjoyable today as it was upon its release. A Year With 13 Moons takes up the blown-out, shoegazing torch and embellishes it greatly. Guitar, modular synthesizer, drum machine and tapes were all employed to hone a swirling maelstrom of tectonic proportions, smeared across 16 tracks that play out like an extended mix of dreamy space shuttle launch recordings. 
 
Cantu-Ledesma is a veteran musician of nearly 20 years, playing in post-rock juggernaut Tarentel, as well as duo projects the Alps and Raum (with Liz Harris of Grouper). His proficiency is laid bare on these recordings, which are evocative concoctions of blasted noise and ruminative melodies. A Year With 13 Moons is certainly a must-hear for those who favour their consonance shaded with a dollop of playful dissonance.
(Mexican Summer)

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