Higuma: Pacific Fog Dreams (Root Strata)

Evan Caminiti of Barn Owl joins up again with Lisa McGee for their 3rd album of drones, appropriately released by the Root Strata label. Even more so than Caminiti’s main project, Higuma nearly disappears into its own cloud of drones, living up to its own title. It’s largely hazy and gaseous, billowing in and out of formation but never taking on much of a distinct shape. It’s best not to think of Pacific Fog Dreams as discrete tracks but rather parts of one nebulous whole. I’ve been playing it continuously trying to cull out specifics to describe, but Higuma’s aesthetic is not so much about the details as the overall takeaway, that hazy gloom that is all-pervasive throughout their music. Only occasionally does clarity come through in the mix, such as in the delicate acoustic finale to “Crystal Harvest” or the fuzzy lead of “White Winds.” And while drone-haze albums may be plentiful these days more than ever before, Higuma still manages to impress me, hitting all the sweet spots gracefully.

Buy it: Thrill Jockey | iTunes | Bent Crayon | Boomkat | Amazon

higuma – pacific fog dreams (album preview) by experimedia