A stirring album that melds gentle folk captivation with ghostly rock flourishes, When the Whole House is Asleep comes from Diego Molina. Recently making his home in Nashville, where the album was finished, Molina wrote the material in Seattle and recorded in Rochester, New York. His cross-country travels combine with an eclectic appreciation of styles for a resonating sound and artistic vision, ranging from the spirited bursts of the title track to the mellow folk stylings within “Sunset Strip.”

Exemplary of Molina’s knack for enthralling structural developments, “The Life of a Starving Artist” grows from a ghostly folk allure — with shades of Elliott Smith and Nick Drake — into a lushly gripping mid-point expanse, with piano and percussive adornments. The guitar pulses around the three-minute mark signal a captivating intrigue, resembling Radiohead’s atmospheric tendencies. “Ego Death” is another one of many standouts, as twangy guitars complement vocals that yearn “to stay in this beautiful loop.”

Both minimalist folk entries like “Family Man” and more involved swells like “Ego Death” coexist with cohesive engagement throughout When the Whole House is Asleep, an album abundant in quality songwriting and haunting aesthetical lingering.

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“Sunset Strip” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of November 2023’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.

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