As most of us are aware, or at least Joel, up here in the mountains, Tony Shalhoub does different kinds of things…

Well, apparently so does Marco Benevento.

We were somewhere around the Catskills, on the edge of the Appalachians, when Benevento kicked in. The microdosing of nuanced experimental rock and diverse jazz undertones that make up the latest release from the Woodstock, New York artist will make you feel like you’re drifting, if ever slightly, just outside your own self and it is utterly glorious.

Marco Benevento’s aptly titled record (influenced in name by 1970s McCartney) is an eleven-track audible perspective on the intimate world of his home creative space and beyond. Each song, from the short “Polysix,” 35-seconds of jaunty pops, to the over-five-minute overdrive beats of “Do You Want Some Magic,” expands and contracts on the whims of Benevento. Dangerously close to an unbridled jam-session feeling at times the record is masterfully corralled by the well-experience artist. The sense of freedom and hazy open space explored by each track flourishes in a world only recently more open to the likes of Tame Impala. Yet the tight transitions and layered richness of his sound has us easily comprehending Benevento isn’t some slap-dash endeavor. Revealing the stream of consciousness, Benevento explains “this record really acts as a psychedelic window into my studio and my brain” while expertly executing just that in fruition. Blending sounds from around the globe, subtly and without pretense, Benevento explores a vision which feels himself as much as an introspection into us all. Each passing keystroke and stirring synth lead the way into the diverse forest of self-meditation and escape. The blending bends reflect inward and hypnotize us into the world of Benevento. It is a record that succeeds on virtually every level.

If you’re the kind of person that imagines yourself with a soundtrack as you navigate the world in your headphones or you’re the type that prefers to hold the 12×12 sleeve in your hand while you sit alone in a dimly lit room, you’re going to find a journey in Benevento that is unexpected and richly rewarding. The sonic prowess of the executed record which bleeds with insatiable experimentation expertly demonstrates that up there in the Catskills, Marco Benevento does different kinds of things, we all win.