GNAC

By now, Mark Tranmer’s shtick as GNAC should be getting old. He is involved in other bands, such as the Montgolfier Brothers, but he classifies GNAC as his "sophisticated instrumental project.” It seems like he writes soundtracks for yet-to-be-filmed movies — pieces of music that manage to conjure moods and images beautifully — but that’s all he does. Yet with The Arrival of the Fog, his fifth album as GNAC, his music is still as compelling as ever, perhaps even more so than before. The 12 tracks are more musically varied than previously and he has given himself more room to stretch out — five- and six-minute songs are common, and there are even a couple that check in at over ten. And they never feel too long because he’s always taking listeners on a journey with a destination in mind. Tranmer may have painted himself into a musical corner but it’s a corner that suits him perfectly. The Arrival Of The Fog is his best album to date.