I’m not sure where to start on this one. Goldmund is the alter-ego of Keith Kenniff, a Boston-based musician who’s done some superb electronic work for Type over the last couple of years. I ordered this sight-unseen, and although I expected something different, this took me completely by surprise.
Kenniff’s discarded all his computerized trappings in favor of an album of mostly solo piano. There are thirteen short tracks, unified by the influence of American Civil-War music. It’s an odd, elegaic and beautiful record, and certainly the last thing I expected.
I’m not sure what to compare it to. “Ba” opens with a skeletal melody floating over an ostinato, sounding something like Chris Clark’s “Pleen 1930s” or some of Richard James’ work on the much-lamented Drukqs. At other times, the sparse, quiet pieces like “Marching through Georgia” are remniscient of A Silver Mt. Zion or Robin Holcomb’s wonderful Little Three.
Kenniff keeps the microphones closely placed, and you can hear his fingers tapping the keys and the hammers striking the strings. Continued...