Album review: 'Reading Daze' 

Mike Wall

"Reading Daze"

Self-released

mwall.bandcamp.com

Boasting some odd, one-word titles for each of the tracks to his new, 15-song release, "Reading Daze," Rochester musician Mike Wall takes us on a smooth ride full of trippy, chilled, Sunday lazy haze, with some Saturday night sophistication for punctuation.

On "Reading Daze," Wall constructs his multiple layers of sound from some sweet jazz guitar and piano straight out of Birdland. And he throws in some way-down bass and minimalist rhythm tracks which frequently sound like the pops and clicks from a skipping record. This gives it a cool, disjointed groove that frankly prevents the listener from completely spacing out and missing out.

There's less going on than you would initially think, but it's enough to keep you enthralled. "Reading Daze" comes on deceptively dense but still breathes as it goes to work lowering the listener's heart rate and elevating their mood — and all the while raising their expectations. It ain't too slick, but it's super smooth.