The River That Flows Into The Sands

The River That Flows Into The Sands might be the best entry point for listeners interested in Andrew Chalk’s more drone-based material. It’s a beautiful, restrained set, opening with four comparatively brief studies for layered electric guitars. On these pieces, Chalk stretches gentle melodies into pocket-size eternities; the notes fall so naturally it’s like watching layers of sediment slowly slide into place. The closing “Radiant Light,” over the course of eighteen languorous minutes, shimmers in earshot, reeling out a thimble’s-worth of tones in elegiac repose; it’s one of Chalk’s most hypnotically gorgeous explorations of the poetry of near-stasis.