Mark Templeton – Standing On A Hummingbird

A mixture of glitchy electronics and gentle instrumentation, Mark Templeton's STANDING ON A HUMMINGBIRD maintains a steady, calm presence throughout its run time. Opening with the sustained tones of "Amidst Things Uncontrolled," the piece soon shifts to center the guitar, while "Pigeon Hurt" emphasizes the clicking electronics. "Roots Growing" leans into dissonance, and "From Verse to Verse" meanders somewhat aimlessly, but for the most part, the harmonics reign, as on the thrum and jitter of "Tentative Growth" or the refracted piano on the title track. The sparseness of "Across From Golden (Remix)" makes it overly empty, considering the layers of sound elsewhere, but "Pattern For A Pillow" helps fill in the sonic space before "Difficult To Light" closes the album with a few clatters of a cymbal amongst telegraph transmissions that lead to a urgent guitar line and snare drum. It's a easy listen, not one that sticks with you strongly, but one that flits by like a freed hummingbird.