The Details: The Caretaker, Persistent Repetition of Phrases (History Always Favours the Winners, 2010 reissue)
The Reason(s) We Can’t Stop Listening: One of 2009’s most sprawling/stunning releases (Leyland Kirby‘s triple-CD set, Sadly, the Future Is No Longer What It Was) is chased with a limited gatefold digipak pressing from Kirby’s other dark ambient guise, the Caretaker. Originally released in 2008, Persistent Repetition of Phrases has the snap, crackle, pop quality of a stack of 78s, as filtered through the disintegrating loops of William Basinski and the sepia-toned soundtracks that only exist in the deepest, darkest recesses of our muddled minds.
In other words, these aren’t songs so much as profound statements–ones that’ll remind you of carnival rides and cough syrup, funeral processions and flower arrangements, and the last time you desperately needed a reminder that everything’s going to be alright. Looks like Kirby chose “/selectedmemories” as his MySpace domain for a reason.