At just over an hour, Pigments Drift Down to the Brook sounds wise beyond its minutes. The first full-length offering of winning lethargy from Japanese septet 4 Bonjour’s Parties is an album to get lost in, one so airy and unhurried that a single track can feel like a whole day spent intentionally lost in the forest. Brass and woodwind and a chore wheel of other instruments lend a baroque quality to the affair, recalling the venerable Elephant 6 tradition minus the frenzy. All told, a little frenzy would be nice from time to time, as the middle of the record stalls for lack of tension. But when it works, as it does especially in “Ruins,” Pigments buzzes with a lovely and enviable placidity. - Resonance |