Until Tomorrow

Album review

Operating in the same rarified air as Múm, Jonas Munk, aka Manual, mixes equal parts Autechre glitch and emotional melodies on the accessible, beautiful Until Tomorrow. Like the music of his electronic peers and fellow Morr Music artists Lali Puna, Tied & Tickeled Trio, and ISAN, Munk's music is as finely arranged as it is innovative. Unlike the increasingly scholarly work of Autechre, this album never lets experimentation get the better of its warm, bubbly songs. The acoustic guitar centerpiece of "Fortnights" is something that Autechre would seemingly never attempt. Instead, Munk develops his tracks into tone poems that suggest a sped-up Boards of Canada operating at the peak of their abilities. The standard clicks + cuts of electronica circa 2001 are everywhere, but Munk infuses each crackle and keyboard note with a passion that's missing in the work of many of his contemporaries. While each song is a gorgeous entity unto itself, certain songs stand out. "Velvet Sunset" is touchingly sad, yet optimistic, as a current of Disco Inferno sound effects intertwine. "Lunate" throbs and twinkles, suggesting a Funkstorung lullaby. "Inn" is inspired drum'n'bass that in no way sounds dated. "Baja Nights" percolates for two minutes before becoming a rocking cradle of synth sounds worthy of µ-ziq. Until Tomorrow is intelligent enough to sit alongside great albums from Autechre, Boards of Canada, and µ-ziq. It's also so consistent in its ability to express emotion, that it surpasses them in many respects.
© Tim DiGravina /TiVo