Kelly Moran: Don't Trust Mirrors

""Prism drift" and "Sans sodalis" are built on spacious, ringing harmonics, not likely to move bodies, but to leave them stock-still and blissfully overwhelmed. These versions were later reworked into their more subdued partners, "Hypno" and "Sodalis (II)," for Moves in the Field, and their effect here is like seeing a familiar stage play shot in IMAX, with small, expressive gestures made grandly cinematic."

"In the second half of Don't Trust Mirrors, Moran largely works in the opposite direction, translating those songs written for Disklavier into pieces for prepared piano and synth. These tracks stand out from their originals through textural variety rather than compositional complexity. "Systems," for example, is recognizable as Moves in the Field's "Superhuman," but it finds new force in the prepared piano's clanging strings. At times, it sounds more like gamelan and with a bit of subtle synth, it becomes quietly sinister."

Five early pieces date from 2019 and 2020, when Moran aimed to bring prepared piano into dance contexts. The opener combines a repeating synth line, buzzing bass chords and chiming piano melody, initially suggesting a club setting, but the album pivots to focus on the prepared piano's timbral character. Tracks like "Prism drift" and "Sans sodalis" emphasize spacious, ringing harmonics that induce stillness rather than movement. Several pieces were later reworked into subdued counterparts for Moves in the Field, enhancing cinematic scale. The second half reverses the process, converting Disklavier compositions into prepared-piano and synth arrangements that prioritize textural variety.

Read at Pitchfork