Stray Theories – Falter (Self) (13th Floor Album Review)
Stray Theories’ Falter places the listener inside a moment of imbalance and asks them to remain there. It is an album shaped by hesitation, by sound that circles and recalibrates rather than pressing forward.
Stray Theories is the long-running ambient project of Aotearoa composer Micah Templeton-Wolfe, who over the last dozen years has issued albums such as Even Though We Sleep, Those Who Remain, and This Light, known for their slow-burn pacing and emotional coherence. Across those releases, sound often opens outward, gradually gathering light and momentum. Falter sits differently within that arc, narrowing its focus and staying close to moments where direction feels provisional. Templeton-Wolfe’s core palette of synthesisers, drones, and lightly threaded percussion is occasionally widened by subtle guest contributions on drums, guitar, and cello.
The album’s sense of imbalance is established immediately. Have It All opens with synthesisers whipping and echoing around a slow bass pulse, their surfaces glistening as subtle changes pass through the mix. Higher tones flutter at the edges, creating a sense of enclosure before the track settles into quiet. Departure moves deeper into disorientation, beginning in a hushed register before sounds pull apart and fall into the spaces between them. Percussion enters tentatively, at first loosely placed, then beginning to mark time as swells of synth, crackle, and hum rise and recede. A single tone returns repeatedly, carrying the feeling of something searching for a point of return.
A few tracks in, the atmosphere darkens. Catalyst opens with low rumbles and keyboard strikes, joined by ticking percussion that keeps a subdued count. A shimmering synth edge moves restlessly across the surface, held briefly in place by the drum pattern. As the shimmer thickens into hiss and the rhythm dissolves, the remaining textures feel exposed, unsettled, and unresolved. That unease carries into The Faded, which layers faint whistling tones against a deepening drone, brightness rising and falling within thicker textures.
Reverie builds from an icy, rumbling foundation into a dense weave of bells, tapping percussion, and rough-edged synth. Each swell arrives with greater force, spreading outward before gradually easing toward the track’s close.
As the album progresses, a more reflective tone emerges. After The Fall introduces tentative forward motion through lightly tapped drums and circling drones that glide, pause, and change direction. Bass tones subtly change the track’s centre of gravity, easing tension as it fades. A Quiet Ruin suspends piano-like tones in space where they reverberate, hanging in the air like distant signals, reinforced by a slow deep pulse. As the piece unfolds, the textures brighten and loosen, moving toward acceptance as ringing tones gradually dissolve.
The closing track, Lifelines, feels like a final act of gathering. It emerges slowly and quietly, with gentle sounds appearing as if growing into the space. A tense shimmer remains in the background as chimes gradually surface. A pulse of rhythm appears, calm and steady, and subtle shifts in volume and pace begin to reshape the atmosphere. Synth swirls build and wash over the listener in soft waves, before echoes, drones, and tonal remnants fade gradually into silence.
The album’s visual language closely mirrors this atmosphere. The black and white forest imagery presents a landscape of overlapping forms and softened outlines. Trees recede into shadow, depth remains ambiguous, and the environment seems static, encouraging us to stay still and look, and listen, deeply.
Within Stray Theories’ discography, Falter reads as a moment of recalibration, where everything is more contained and finely balanced. Familiar elements remain, drone, keyboard tones, textured electronics, but they are applied with a closer emotional focus. The album listens inward, attentive to subtle changes in tone and weight, allowing meaning to emerge gradually through accumulation and proximity. In doing so, Templeton-Wolfe delivers an absorbing, cinematic record, shaped by atmosphere and patience, and lingering long after its music dissolves.
John Bradbury
Preorder Falter: https://n5md.bandcamp.com/album/falter
