Phil Cook’s Appalachia Borealis is a 31-minute set of piano pieces shaped by birdsong, silence and the pressure of starting over. The playing is clear and spare, with Cook leaving plenty of air between notes instead of leaning on the sustain pedal. “Rise” moves carefully into the day, while “Two Hands In My Pocket” has a bright, quick-footed pulse. “Buffalo” is more unsettled, its heavy left-hand rhythm pushing against a rush of right-hand notes. Field recordings appear around the piano rather than turning it into background decoration, especially on “Thrush Song,” “Dawn Birds” and “Ambassador Cathedral.” The closing title track is quieter still, with distant loons giving the piece a soft edge.
Cook wrote these songs in North Carolina after moving into a home beside the woods, then developed them on a Yamaha U3 before recording at April Base in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. Justin Vernon produced, Joe Richmond engineered and Brian Joseph mixed, with Vernon testing how the bird recordings and a large reverb chamber changed Cook’s responses at the piano. That gives the album a connection to the wider Wisconsin and North Carolina roots scenes without turning it into a band record. It’s a natural fit for people drawn to solo piano, contemporary composition and field recordings, though its restraint may leave anyone looking for a full arrangement cold. Paid downloads are joined by vinyl and CD editions.
