Marsen Jules, Golden (CD)

2007's Golden is Marsen Jules's most acoustic record, and also his busiest. There are pianos and acoustic guitars here playing recognizable patterns, presumably loops. These instruments create a sense of movement where his earlier records sometimes relied on more stasis. Electronics still poke out, sometimes prominently, and the music is hardly driving or propulsive. Golden is a really diverse, interesting album, that retains Marsen Jules's approach (down to the flowers on the cover) while stretching it into surprising territory.