STRAY THEORIES — Falter LP

Falter is the 5th full-length album from New Zealand-based composer/-multi-instrumentalist Micah Templeton-Wolfe, working under the moniker Stray Theories. Templeton-Wolfe has consistently woven together the cinematic sweep of ambient music, the refined structures of neoclassical composition, and the emotional cresting arcs of post-rock. With Falter, those intersections are more deeply blurred, yet more boldly explored. Transparent Red Vinyl. The title Falter evokes wavering, hesitation, uncertainty of intent and yet the album stands in sharp contrast to that concept: Templeton-Wolfe’s performance here is marked by a quiet but unmistakable confidence. From the first notes, the listener is immersed in an atmosphere in which the music feels like a cinematic means of passage, a journey toward redemption. Optimism is present, but ever cloaked in doubt; moments of contemplative solace sit side-by-side with streaks of melancholia. One senses something looming within the sound-world of Falter. As though the heart itself can tell something is coming. In this respect, Falter may well rank as the most affecting release in Templeton-Wolfe’s canon to date. While his earlier work had always balanced delicate textures and evocative atmosphere, here he pushes into a more expansive emotional terrain. Only the hopeful refrain “Lifelines” brings the album fully into brighter territory , hinting that redemption is possible, that the journey through doubt is not endless.