Intermission

Album review

Zach Saginaw's six-track 2015 EP is titled in a way to tip off listeners to its secondary position in the Shigeto discography. Issued amid much activity beneath and above the surface, such as the recording of Dave Douglas' High Risk and the building of a recording studio, Intermission is presented as a stopgap between the second and third proper Shigeto albums. Though it might not be as substantial or as neatly tied together as No Better Time Than Now, the EP is easy to enjoy and full in form. Typically intricate, polyrhythmic cuts -- the modestly titled "Pulse" and "Do My Thing" chief among them -- feature prickly thumb piano and synthesizer lines coursing through maze-like patterns. The shorter ambient tracks, like those of peers Mark Van Hoen/Locust and Boards of Canada, are worth more than a few deep listens. Saginaw doesn't know exactly what lies ahead -- one reason why Appetizer wouldn't have been an apt title. Even so, this small portion effectively increases anticipation for the third album from a producer and instrumentalist who mixes the analog and the electronic on a level occupied by few others.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo