When Kyle Bates started work in 2019 on a new solo project to reflect on grief, long-distance relationships, and interstate moves, he likely had no idea how hard those feelings would be reinforced by upcoming global events. Three years later, Wane Into It is released into a different world than Drowse intended. Pandemic deaths, shelter-in-place orders, political upheaval, and the onlinification of every aspect of life made the microcosm of Bates’ experience oddly universal. Yet no matter how broadly relatable it is to us now, Bates tells his story in deeply intimate language that defies the thick layers of hazy noise obstructing his voice.

Throughout the nine tracks, Bates collects disparate sounds like a hoarder, unorganized boxes spilling into one another. Xylophones clink over sheets of droning synths. Glitching drum machines fizzle beneath dark guitars. Acoustic guitars strum dreamily in time with vintage 808s. Pop songs dissolve into harsh noise. Just when you feel like you understand where the album is going, it tilts its head and the light reveals textures you weren’t expecting.

There are moments of post-punk via trip-hop (“Untrue in Headphones”), swinging slowcore (“Gabapentin”), billowy drone (“Telepresence”), and glacial doom (“Ten Year Hangover / Deconstructed Mystery”). But somehow, this rat’s nest of tangled timbres never sounds scatterbrained. Rather, every squall of feedback, every howling organ, every scratching violin, every tape loop is expertly placed. It’s not cluttered like some hoarder’s too-small house, but tightly packed like a Flemish Renaissance painting. The crowning achievement of the record is the penultimate track, “Three Face (Cyanoacrylate),” a near-eight-minute track that builds pinging synths, lumbering acoustic guitars, hand percussion, and strings to a climax that feels positively grandiose.

In the end, Wane Into It is a brilliant record filled with contradictions. It feels effortless, but the three years of work are evident in the finish. It sounds dense and amorphous while being intimate and inviting. And where the record is the result of diving into Bates’ own grief, there are moments that sound positively joyful—or at least life-affirming. If you’re looking for a warm sonic blanket to keep you warm as the temperatures shift, this is it.

Wane Into It is out now through The Flenser.

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