MARC RIORDAN - "Life Systems" LP

Marc Riordan - Life Systems LP (Sophomore Lounge, 2021) Edition of 300 with hand-stamped center labels / stickered CMYK jackets. "Marc Riordan carries the difficult musical obstacle of virtuosity. Something, personally, I've never had to bear. Musicians as technically skilled as he typically struggle (counter-intuitively) to express anything as powerfully evocative as his new solo album "Life Systems" does so effortlessly. They know too much, they describe too much, and they leave very little space for the listener to meet the compositions, and wander. On "Life Systems," Riordan uses his tremendous dexterity with keyboards to opposite ends, and spends all his time suggesting and framing, never lecturing, never over-describing any particular surface. The melodies and delicate voicings brush gently against looming unseen forms, and in their soft glances create a vast, inviting, and mysterious emptiness to explore. Just a few strokes, precise, but open: implications.When I first moved to