Andrew Tuttle & Darren Cross - AT/DC [Review]
About Andrew Tuttle
TSMM’s label history inadvertently (honest guv) resurfaces again in AT/DC. Andrew Tuttle is a banjo and guitar-wielding ambient folk-producing maverick, who calls sunny Brisbane home. He’s a boss-eyed creative, one orb on the US’ Americana riches, and the other looking upwards to hitherto unexplored sonic realms; the fact that he can actually see his way to the studio to regularly produce some of the best ambient folk around is a wonder. He also regularly finds himself in good company: Steve Gunn, SUSS, Mike Cooper, and Luke Schneider to name a few. Oh, and as for the TSMM connection, have a listen to his contribution to the well-received Future Folk compilation, a project where all sorts of stars aligned, even The Guardian said so.
About Darren Cross
I can’t lie, Darren Cross is something of an unknown quantity to me, but apparently he’s a well-known character from Australia’s alternative scene, with history in several notable outfits over the last thirty-odd years, before he started to focus more on his solo guitar work around 2019. If you want to see him in action, and probably pick up a few tips along the way, then head over to his Youtube Channel.
Andrew Tuttle Darren Cross
Review
Rather like Midorinozu, there’s serious synergy going on. The pair apparently laid down a few initial parameters, and freeing themselves from the tyranny of endless choice seems to have worked wonders. As Cross is Sydney-based, the pair started trading files from afar - often the way today. Their shared love of drones opened an ambient portal, so the pair walked through; Tuttle with his Banjo and effects, Cross somehow managing to lug his guitar, a synth and a hard drive full of field recordings. The pair then set about soundtracking this primordial cosmic space.
The album starts tentatively at first with some nature sounds and pastoral picking on the album opener ‘Athletic, Eup’, before they start prodding the boundaries of cosmic country on ‘pink Skyyy Sixth Prize’, which leads nicely to the weightless, star-spotting ambience of ‘Afternoon Sunrise (I Saw Galadriel at 711)‘. After the rounded acidity of ‘Astral Coffee’ the pair, now fully caffeinated, head off into more ecstatic territory on ‘Memory Wends Like The Clouds Never Saw’, the electronic movement swirling portal dust into the air and carrying the acoustic strings out of earshot, though the consummate picking comes back into auditory focus on the serene, wellness-imbuing, ambient folk delights of the album-closing ‘Wave Ghoster Catch Up’.
If you liked this recording then perhaps check out Kit Gordon's Taber, 2025 (field recordings)
This review ran in TSMM's October 18h newsletter. If you'd like album tips direct to your inbox or the Substack app — plus the odd bit of industry insight and existential musing from TSMM HQ — you can subscribe here.
Playlist Companion
Find the pair in the New Age of New Age Playlist.
