Nº 23 Commune – Kin Leonn

Illustrative song titles like Shinrin-yoku and Somewhere evoke inviting landscapes of reflection and resonance. The more electronic, rhythm-oriented cuts – particularly twin centerpieces Visionary and There were days – find common cause with the producerʼs approach of balancing programmed and improvised music, before dissolving into a liberating resolution of harmonics and noise. Quieter moments in Desire #9 and Detached also stun with their hypnotic beauty and spaciousness, revealing the artistʼs cinematically-attuned approach.

This very sense of fluidity and non-structure gives the record its shape-shifting identity, but across 10 songs and 43 minutes, Commune still functions as a single, cohesive piece of music. Itʼs easy to get lost in the album and it’s a pleasantly disorienting sensation. In the closing piano track, Nightlight serves as the coda for the whole album, showing that Kin Leonnʼs strength as a musician isnʼt all about production complexity, but in the emotional nuance he is able to coax from his instruments with sure instinct and enormous sensitivity.