Nudge

It's been four years since L.A.-via-Portland artist Brian Foote delivered his glassy, slow gaze-y LP, Cached. Far from a sabbatical, Foote has spent the last two-fifths of this decade collaborating with his band-mates through projects like Valet and Strategy, along with contributing production work to Kranky label-mates Atlas Sound and Lotus Plaza. As Good as Gone, Nudge's follow-up, reunites Foote with Honey Owens (Valet) and Paul Dickow (Strategy) for a batch of almost-not-there rhythms over 1/1 beats. Songs like "Two Hands" and "Tito" act as a fitting comedown from Honey's electro experiments, while album closer "Dawn Becomes Light" delivers the same fuzzed out clusterfuck that makes Atlas Sound seem so detached and uninterested. Demonstrating the importance collaboration plays in Foote's songwriting process, As Good as Gone presents Nudge as a group ready to absorb any idea or sound obtainable, resulting in a piece of work that comes off as uniform, varied and static to the listener as to themselves.