Retreating to the vineyards of Manon Farm in South Australia, Andrew Wilson and John Tanner join forces for a third long-player and a follow up to 2019’s much-loved sophomore set, II. As with their previous albums, Legends captures a specific place and time. A further excursion into electro-acoustic ambience – something that the press one-sheet describes as “biodynamic” – the set finds the pair sampling their surroundings, filtering field recordings into their playful production. Birdsong bursts through on several occasions. The “organics” amounting to an assortment of instruments – clarinet, piano, pipe organ, plucked and strummed strings – anything else that could be struck or stroked which came to hand. The “electro” elements present themselves as subtle sound design – drones, grainy, glitched textures, splashes of rippling reverb and dubwise effects. The results are sorta folk, but with added fizzing frequencies. 

Grasshopper is built around bent, bottleneck blues notes. Its metallic ringing periodically spinning backwards. Bubbles is a wired, wonky bossa nova. Antonio Carlos Jobim jamming with Thermoderm’s Radium Writes Its Signature. Old Vine has a sad, Spanish air. Despite its title, Summer Rot is a sketch for a clear, fine morning. Summoning a sense of optimism. Full of a new day’s adventure, possibility and promise. Legends itself dances a twisted, wheezy waltz. The guitar picking sometimes, as on Botrytis, comes with country-fied corners, and recalls the post-rock Americana of people such as Papa M and Tortoise. The loose arrangements from time to time drop out, fall away, suggesting a level of improvisation, at least at the mixing stage. The 12 tracks effectively acting as snapshots from the reunion. Documenting the duo’s evolving creative process. Their studio tinkering, trying things out. As such the album has the beautiful unhurried feel of friends simply enjoying experimenting together. Taking their time to be only in that moment. Listening encourages you to do the same. 

Wilson Tanner’s Legends can be ordered directly from Efficient Space.