Fernando Perdomo 2026
Zooming in on aural nuances in search of romantic catharsis, coast-dwelling composer gives in to natural forces.
Clouds 4
One thing people often overlook about Fernando Perdomo‘s year-long album cycles is that both 2025’s “Waves” and 2026’s “Clouds” got set in motion not by the titular processes per se, yet by photos of these phenomena. Thus, those who look closely at the cover of the fourth chapter in the American multi-instrumentalist’s second annual series, should notice how the snapshot of a seascape bringing together the two billowing elements was taken through a window, which gave the image a fantastic texture. However, if exploring textures became the defining characteristic of this record and a logical development of its predecessor‘s focus on sonic dynamics and tone, the resulting atmospherics relaxed the artist’s grip on simple tunefulness and rendered the ten tracks on display rather experimental. And though humorous headers of a few pieces can undermine such an intent, the listener must find the music soothingly arresting – prompting them to stop and surrender to the sounds.
It’s difficult to not be enveloped in the electric strum of “Deck 14 (The Haven)” which is drenched in ivories whose veneer may feel velveteen due to an undulating blend of Perdomo’s instruments, until his guitar twang and delicate licks stitch heavenly and mundane motifs into a dense tapestry. Still, “The Zen And Art Of Steve” places low frequencies on the background of crystalline notes that are evenly spaced and interspersed with silences to create a folk-influenced sense of suspended urgency, before “Francis Beside Me” reaches for cinematic perspective by putting synthetic orchestra behind a six-string rumble to make the audience’s mind crumble. But while “Systemic” offers a spellbinding seed of a ballad, “Peter Patter” snatches adventurous Eastern patterns out of thin air to mold cathedral-like solemnity and segue into “Cracks” where tentative, albeit tangible, snippets of raga-stricken meltdown reside.
In this context, “Pool Of Sky” seems strange when it locates an array of proper grooves to probe with fretboard runs, yet “Your Moods” dissolves them in what could be considered new age if not for worry and hope that keep this melody aflutter. And then there’s “Mars, The Bringer Of Chocolate” which picks up where a certain Holst classic left off and crams a nuclear momentum in a mere ninety-four seconds, and “Nobody Beats The Wizard!” which itches to turn cosmic only to paste psychedelic effects onto a very earthy surface, possibly the glass the album’s cover was shot through. “Clouds 4” is not an easy, but extremely rewarding experience.
****3/4
