Photo Courtesy of American Dreams Records

Stuck in Florida because of a shelter-in-place order, Chicago musician Jordan Reyes found a solution to his limited technical capabilities away from home by unearthing and releasing a collection of pitchy, looping outtakes from his debut album, Close.

His new release, Closer, consists of six synth-based tracks that entrance listeners over the span of nearly 40 minutes. On parts of this companion piece, such as the glitchy, morphing opener, “Teetering,” or the dense and moody “Slow Walk,” it feels as if the listener is becoming engulfed by a dreary, overwhelming atmosphere.

“When I’m making music with synthesizers it still feels like I’m trying to harness and channel some ungraspable force from the aether,” Reyes said in a release. “I hope it always does.”

At long last, the penultimate song “Close” offers some relief through sparking flutters and a calming central melody. But, the track probably wouldn’t have the brain-soothing impact it does without all the tension that comes before it, making a holistic listen of Closer necessary to unlocking its full effects.

The cover art for this collection, drawn by artist JJ Cromer, was originally considered for Close, but is now repurposed for these songs.

You can now stream Closer in its entirety on Reyes’ Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/39Nr5hX