Ayal Senior - Yutori ゆとり

Ayal Senior - Yutori ゆとりMore Medusa Editions! Ever-dependable Toronto guitarist Ayal Senior’s latest is a collection of gorgeous instrumental psych-folk. On Yutori ゆとり, Senior is working with a relatively large ensemble — eight players at times — but things never get overly cluttered or bogged down. The musicians move as one throughout, with acoustic guitar framed beautifully by pedal steel, vibraphone, acoustic bass, cello, gentle-but-insistent percussion and lightly fried electric six-string accents. Some tunes have an elegant chamber folk feel, leaning into the more composed side of things. Others, like the two long tracks that close things out, indulge in improvisational adventures, letting the assembled crew stretch out into extemporized/extended zones. Wherever they go, bliss follows.