Kleistwahr – Common Values CD Since 2014 Gary Mundy of Ramleh and Breathless has been releasing most of his solo work through Fourth Dimension Records. Common Values is his seventh such album for the label (not including a reissue of 2009’s The Return album, originally released on vinyl by USA’s long gone by legendary Noiseville, and the LP reissues of the Broken Flag albums Mobility and Do Not also shipping in October 2022) and gathers another six mighty cuts that on one hand continue his penchant for exploring more serrated sonic landscapes and, on the other, keep those in check with a tempered approach to atmospherics that this time round is widened further by almost kosmische-like curdled organ playing,, electronic swirl, psychedelic guitar mainlined from one of Saturn’s outer rings, and occasional haunting yet despairing vocals that are more pronounced than ever before. Common Values is a title itself that simultaneously commands empathy as well as a wry nod towards the irony at work. If anything serves as a common thread in all of Gary’s work then it’s not only in his love of stratospheric sounds, but also this deep sense of anguish due to hoping things will improve whilst knowing that humanity is its own worst enemy. It’s this quality that binds his music together and is laid barest in Kleistwahr. Common Values sounds both like a basic recognition of a quality most individuals are possessed with whilst they tear each other apart because of perceived differences or a disagreement over fundamental truths. If Kleistwahr tread any line, then it’s right here. Common Values might well be illuminating this more than ever.
