M Templeton Acre Loss CD

Acre Loss is conceived as an audiovisual work, with each of Mark Templeton's understated compositions being accompanied by a short film by aA. Munson, which is also how this music is performed live. Music and film seem to have been developed in parallel: they complement each other very well. However, Templeton's pieces can also stand on their own, and that is why you get a DVD (in both NTSC and PAL) and an audio CD. Acre Loss is basically folktronica for wide wild spaces. Templeton's music is firmly rooted in folk, approached in a textural way, treated with electronics, and layered atop field recordings of daily life (eating breakfast, family life) and nature (birds, water, wind). There is nothing new about that by 2009, but Templeton manages to create stylish and evocative pieces that could also be called aural vignettes, as most of the tracks come under four minutes. He locks onto a mood, often inspired by a field recording, then explores its possibilities in a concise way. The same can be said about Munson's short films, which cast a slightly experimental light on quotidian settings. His technique combines the intimate look and feel of Super 8 and modern digital technology, resulting in films that are just as aerial, evocative, and "found"-like as the music compositions. And both artists draw inspiration from and portray the wide spaces of the Canadian prairies. It may be that Acre Loss lacks a bit of originality, but there is no denying the artistry and sound taste involved in its making. ~ François Couture

Personnel: M. Templeton (vocals, guitar, banjo, percussion); aA. Munson (vocals, guitar, banjo, bass instrument, percussion).