Balmorhea has been through many permutations since 2006, yet their core has stayed the same. Rob Lowe and Michael A. Muller have sometimes been a duo, other times a band, other times an orchestra. On Pendant World they split the difference, collaborating with a host of musicians to produce a seamless set that touches the boundaries of post-rock and jazz.
The title is from a line in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, where a character compares death to being “imprison’d in the viewless winds, / And blown with restless violence round about / The pendant world.” Lowe and Muller write of this “suspended world” caught between beauty and fear, as seen during the pandemic: society’s pendulum swinging back and forth, resolution desired but not achieved.
The 41-second “Nonplussed” is an inviting overture, with percussion and piano, church bells and whistles, slowing down swiftly like the shutdowns of March 2020. Suddenly the listener is plunged into contemplation, the languid “Oscuros” hinting at uncertainty. Yet the mood stays hopeful, with wordless singing and sweet strings, reminders of the beauty in the midst of the fear. Sam Gendel’s sax graces “Step Step Step,” one of the early singles. The components are added gingerly, akin to a person putting one foot in front of the other, tackling one task at a time, plodding through difficult days while dreaming of striding.
“Desiderium,” which means “a longing for something lost,” starts as a simple piano piece, but adds wind chimes and birds that rise as the last note decays. A hint of a melody, like a repressed dream, surfaces in the final seconds. And then finally, if only for a brief period, the tempo increases; “The Bright Door” might not yet be opened, but it is visible. For a time, the tempos will switch back and forth, like slow progress as yet unnoticed; “New Conditions” is the first piece to sound like spring.
The beauty rises steadily to the surface, the fear fading as the album progresses. Slowness begins to sound like patience, and collaboration comfort. “Fire Song” is reminiscent of a hearth, the calm guitar a reminder that suspension is not necessarily negative. “Elsewhere” extends the impression, arriving at a near-complete stop mid-piece as if contemplating its next turn. It’s clear which side of the equation Balmorhea is on. Pendant World sets aside solitude and stasis for companionship and forward movement, and invites listeners to do the same. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 