Cleaning out the Empty Administration Building by R.J.F.

For fans of Tom Waits, Flooding, the more abrasive side of slowcore, and the abrupt realization of the gradual passage of time, Cleaning out the Empty Administration Building by R.J.F. observes life from the window of a bullet train, taking calm, collected notes as the station vanishes into the background. Throughout the record, a krautrock insistence on a constant rhythm keeps every sound firmly rooted in time, even as sedated vocals try in vain to pull back the throttle. This tension spills over into the instrumental compositions, which hinge on abrasive, angular riffs that stroll by at a curiously leisurely pace, steeping even the tenderest, warmest vocal in a film of unease. Despite these dichotomies, however, no performance on this album feels particularly desperate, the desire to document coexisting peacefully with the relentless reality of time. We frequently find these inflection points fraught with emotion, but these spaces we’re shuttering have already been abandoned long ago, waiting patiently for us to pull away from the station one last time.