Maybe it’s a side effect of the shingles shot, which left a wicked bruise on my arm, or simply a lack of sleep, but I feel like I’m floating down the river of time this morning. The water’s warm and current’s quick, yet the rapids I spy ahead remain forever fixed in the distance. The steep decline, perilous rocks, and rushing whitewater never materialize; rather, a potpourri of people, places, and pets from my past percolate through my mind’s eye, the fleeting figments popping as if helium-filled balloons once they’ve served their porpoise. Am I swimming in a dream, treading water with the subconscious—or, more likely than not, just lost in the grooves of Louis Matute’s jazz-imbued The World is Stable Now?
The 10-track outing from the Swiss-Honduran guitarist-composer was recorded live in the studio over five days with a stalwart supporting cast, with Matute turning his guitar arpeggios into tantalizing textures via a vintage Tascam recorder and pitch-shifting cassettes. There was more to the recording process, I’m sure, but the machinations of the mixing board matter less than the result. Some tracks, such as “Musique d’Avenir,” conjure Ennio Morricone scores, while others bring to mind Jan Hammer and Vangelis compositions; they’re 35mm dreams all, cinematic and engaging, with occasional grainy bursts adding to the grittiness of select tracks. “Encyclopédie du Drame” leans on an engaging acoustic motif, while “Le Ponant” blends old- and new-school into an intoxicating elixir. “Adieu, Monde Cruel” bends into pop with a guitar-driven hook, though a dark undertow soon reins in its cheery refrain; to borrow a line from the poet Jeffrey Yang, it’s ”drawn to earth by translucent wings.” That sums up the album in full, too. The tunes skirt the sky yet remain tethered to reality—a tricky balancing act, to be sure, but one that Matute pulls off with aplomb.
Matute plays acoustic and electric guitars, plus Moog and Mellotron; he composed all tracks but “Le Ponant,” which was written by Andrew Audiger. Audiger contributes keyboards, Roland Juno and the Mellotron; Robin Girod handles electric bass, drum machine, and additional guitars; and Valentin Liechti plays the drums and percussion. The old-but-new “Le Poinant,” meanwhile, features Léon Phal on tenor sax and Zacharie Ksyk on trumpet.
