Music

PREMIERE: Listen to Silver Pools' new album, 'Memoirs of an Oblong Sphere'

by Jeremy Mersereau

Calling it now: Silver Pools, the new project from songwriter/producer Todd Macdonald, is the best ambient-pop entity led by a mandolinist you’re likely to hear this week. Silver Pools’ debut album, Memoirs of an Oblong Sphere, is out April 22nd on UR Audiovisual and Mouca Records, and you can listen to it in full below.

After the dissolution of his baroque-pop unit The Winks back in 2010, Todd Macdonald went on to study jazz composition and performance while continuing to work as a producer and sound engineer. Now, he’s re-emerged as Silver Pools with a lush combinations of analog synths, vinyl classical samples, plus more traditional instruments like horns, woodwinds, and, of course, the mandolin.

Sounding like a combination of Julianna Barwick and more structured dream-haze dwellers like Beach House or Mazzy Star, Memoirs of an Oblong Sphere was recorded over a four-year period in Montreal and Toronto. It features contributions from a huge number of musicians from both cities, all of whom add to the swirling sonic world that Silver Pools conjures. Listen to Memoirs of an Oblong Sphere here:

Catch Silver Pools on tour:

04/14: Guelph @ The Golden Bus
04/15: Toronto @ Secret Venue
04/16: Kitchener @ Open Sesame
04/17: Hamilton @ Baltimore House
04/21: Toronto @ Handlebar (For Frequencies) *Memoirs of An Oblong Sphere album release
04/23: Montreal @ La Plante