Sounds like…

American desert ambience

The review

Will Moor is a collaboration between Shawn William Clarke and David Gluck and is about their shared love of ambient music. With both having been involved in music for many years, they wanted to bring their indie-folk expertise to the table to create ambient music from acoustic instruments.

This results in a 44 minute 5 track album that nestles nicely in the light American plain genre. The acoustic and electric guitars are the front running instruments throughout most of the album. Often the acoustic album provides the melodic approach and the electric guitar waxes and wanes around it in the background. Percussive cymbals rustle in and out. Often things feel timeless and still and Will Moor understand that with ambience comes space. None of the tracks are rushed and the album comes more drone-like as it progresses.

That being said, I enjoyed Will Moor most when they placed their dry desert vibe front and centre. ‘Hitchhiker (For Ida)’ feels like a pilgrimage of country noodlings given space to breathe. It is the kind of music you’d yearn to hear while walking the Redwoods. ‘Poor Faulkner’ pushes things the other way with open notes and chords that shimmer like a sunset. I’m not sure if the duo has heard of the game Firewatch but if you needed a soundtrack to go orienteering with – this is it.

Will Moor has taken a rustic approach to ambient and for that, I’m really thankful. I gelled with the breezy acoustic notes instantly and felt at ease and transported to another environment entirely. That is the power of well thought out ambient and this album is just that.

Recommended track: Hitchhiker (For Ida)