When the Past Arrives

Mark and Clive Ives are British brothers who’ve been recording their own meditative and mellow instrumental sounds for decades, releasing them years, sometimes decades, after the tracks were completed. When the Past Arrives is their first album in nearly 20 years, assembled from home recordings made in the '70s and ‘80s. It’s a nearly unclassifiable collection of sounds, with their influences as vague as their approach. “Acting Like a Lover” settles on classical guitar licks filtered through effect pedals, while “Distant Consequences” suggests a Brian Eno–like exploration of electric guitar textures and delays. Most tracks last little more than two to three minutes, giving a temporary sense to the music as opposed to the extended pieces more often heard in New Age circles. The brothers add voices for the hippie-folk of “The Garden Path,” where an early-‘70s atmosphere is conjured through the harmonies. Most adventurous is the nine-minute “Satya,” which features ukulele, accordion, clarinet, and other surprises—all said to be recorded in relative quiet as to not disturb the neighbor below them.