Tacoma Park are North Carolina musicians John Harrison and Ben Felton. The duo are very interested in probing, exploring and fusing elements of acoustic Americana, ambient music and less expected genres, like kosmische improvisation or Krautrock. Songs like Circles as a Path as a Valley from their 2023 self-titled album spliced the forms together, with slide guitar giving way to electronic lines as the song developed. Baltimore feels like a more subtly put-together and altogether more confident album, beautifully mastered by Chuck Johnson. The music was formed and edited from lengthy, sometimes remote sessions, with the trimming often brutal: the pulsing beats of Paris were originally nearly 20 minutes long and cut back to just over 8 for the record.
Thankfully, the resulting culls have yielded a very cohesive album that successfully balances its more traditional pieces with some welcome weirdness. Lost is a deceptively relaxed song, with electronic drones creating a base layer that the guys layer with spacious synth sounds and bendy, effected guitar. Even more interesting are the keyed notes towards the end that sound as if they’ve been overlaid backwards; it’s a dash of oddness that makes the piece memorable.
Very different is opener Here, an acoustic tune in the vein of James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg’s All Gist, meaning it contains neat melodies modestly played with underlying subtlety, in this case in the form of gentle electronic fuzz hanging back from the guitar notes. Similar in character is the bookending Oak, which features dueting acoustics that employ lower notes to lend a slightly more uneasy feel to the music. This is a more muscular track, with drums coming in and a wah-wah guitar adding depth. The result is an adventurous, proggy piece of music that benefits from an easy acoustic line hovering over it, adding a different aesthetic to the sound.
Baltimore is a tricky album to categorise, as there is a lot going on in terms of genres and moods being explored, but I really enjoy the almost oceanic ebb and flow that runs through some songs. Coral is a decent example, with a broad electronic backdrop that supports clusters of guitar notes and shards of sound, all of which come together to form a rolling piece that balances calmness with intensity. Just as important is Dawn, which sees Nathan Gollub’s pedal steel contend with strange sweeping electronic sounds that sound like a synth line in reverse.
As much as the music across Baltimore is very well done and a pleasure to listen to, the real achievement here is how the sound manages to balance over forty or so minutes. Simple acoustic melodies blend seamlessly with electronica and dance beats, resulting in an album that is as interesting as it is enjoyable. That’s a significant achievement.
Baltimore (April 24th, 2026) Centripetal Force
Pre-Order via Bandcamp: https://tacomapark.bandcamp.com/album/baltimore-2