Hot Sale Love Aggregates

For any other artist, an album like Asher White’s ‘Love Aggregates’ might come out of a conscious push to treat no idea as off-limits, to make something bold and new. Jubilant art-funk about cocaine addiction – absolutely. Swooning orchestral pop about Jerry Garcia – why not? Rippling electronic noise, jazzy brushed drums, an elderly motorcyclist with dementia, a profoundly emotional bass solo – put them all in one song. There are threadbare folk tunes, glammed-up power-pop bangers, ‘Sir Duke’ horn charts, Morton Feldman string arrangements, layers of guitar feedback like violins made of liquid chrome. Yes, for another artist, ‘Love Aggregates’ might be the most adventurous album in their catalog. For Asher White, it’s what passes for settling down.