[Lovers Rock]

After a few efforts of his own material, Daniel “Ital” Martin-McCormick has begun releasing other artists on his Lovers Rock label. Jacob Long played alongside Martin-McCormick and Damon “Magic Touch” Palermo in the trio Mi Ami, so it makes sense his former bandmate is backing his weirdly overlooked (by me at least) Earthen Sea project. That band could be pretty ferocious at times, and this has been carried out to varying (but definitely lesser) extents in Martin-McCormick and Palermo’s subsequent work. Long is by far the mellowest of the three.

The four evocatively titled tracks on Mirage sit in the same realm as Terekke’s yoga house — occupying a drowsy, weightless head/body space, serene drone rarely propelled by more than a tired patter. These tracks do move, though. Long has a talent for making even his beatless arrangements (“Venus”) sound like they’re exploring an environment, albeit slowly, and not in search of anything specific. Overall Mirage is an incredibly soft, comfortable record. Not to undersell it, but its strengths are truly its simple, careful composition and gradual — but never dragging — pace.