Review | “Estimating Green” by GNAC
The latest release from a master of the melancholic sublime
The long-format LP “Estimating Green” is the latest release by the exquisite GNAC, a solo project established in the mid-90s by legendary composer and instrumentalist Mark Tranmer
This collection of 14 beautiful tracks includes new material as well as radical reworks, and alternate versions of previously released music.
Standouts are the gently cinematic “April in Space” and the ravishingly fragile single “Betweenness”, but it's for the entirety of its 37-minute running time that the record remains irresistibly listenable.
Every soft-focus harmony and sonic gesture blends seamlessly to create the ideal soundtrack for a delicate reverie, inspired by emotionally generous melodies and embellished by intelligently seductive acoustics.
Known since the '90s for his ethereal sound and refined atmospherics, Mark Tranmer is a prolific artist, releasing his work under various other aliases, such as The Montgolfier Brothers (with the late Roger Quigley), Bad Dancers Collide, Wingdisk (with Ian Master, ex-member of the Pale Saints), Vetchinsky Settings (with James Hackett of the Orchids) and the great Italian pianist and composer Alessandra Celletti.
With this exquisite release, Mark Tranmer yet again confirms his place in the pantheon of contemporary masters as a connoisseur of the melancholic sublime