Harpist Mary Lattimore's solo work stands in a class by itself, merging a patient approach to experimental ambient sounds with a mastery of her majestic instrument. When she moved away from regular work as a session player on records for friends like Kurt Vile, Thurston Moore, and Meg Baird to focus on making her own albums, a world of luminous and endlessly beautiful sounds started forming. At first glance, it may seem strange to pair Lattimore's gentle if tumultuous playing with Mac McCaughan, best known for his role in the long-running buzzy punk melodists Superchunk. With New Rain Duets, the duo offer four placid improvisations consisting of Lattimore's slightly processed harp sounds and the subdued support of various synthesizers, samples, and electronics from McCaughan. While McCaughan has always been musically daring, flirting with jazz inflections on Superchunk records and wandering at times into non-rock territory in his songwriting, his synth dabbling before this collaboration was minimal, limited to self-released projects and deconstructive remixes. Despite this relatively less explored role for McCaughan, New Rain Duets finds both players communicating attentively and wandering through several different slow-moving and twilight-toned moods.

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