Cleared: “No Path to Claim” (Breaking Day, Immune 2012)

The fourth track from Michael Vallera and Steven Hess’s Cleared project’s second album encapsulates everything I like about the project. Thick, hazy ambience so dense it’s practically tangible, while bells and chimes resonate in the distance. It’s not as immediate as the title track or others from the album and feels more in alignment with the hushed drones of their debut, though its epilogue hints at the more overt musicality they tap into elsewhere.