Not far-removed time wise from his double bill of Don’t Ever Let Me Know and Images from last year, Colin Andrew Sheffield has created a succinct, 20-ish minute work in 2024 (in addition to a collaborative tape with Andrew Anderson). It shares qualities with his two 2023 records but is clearly a stand-alone project. Constructed from a similar approach to those previous works—namely utilizing commercially available soundtrack recordings—Moments Lost, itself a soundtrack to a short film by Sheffield of recycled footage, taps into that same sense of familiar and mystery, with passages of what may or may not be cinematic drama peeking through.
From the onset of the single piece on this CD, Sheffield’s aptitude in creating dynamic, ever shifting layers of sound that teeter between music and pure sound is immediately apparent. Noisy, sputtering delays and panning sections are paired with expansive, glistening layers of tonal beauty. As the piece goes on, some almost piano-like melodies float to the surface of crackling textures. As with his other works, it is ambiguous as to whether or not this is a more obvious bleed through of his source material, or if it is actually something else entirely that he has reshaped.
Similarly, heavy droning passages of what could be organ blend with guitar-like vibrating strings that may or may not be those actual instruments appear soon after. Sheffield incorporates melody quite frequently throughout the composition, but the shifts in volume and density at times make it an overwhelming, but highly dynamic work. Sheffield shifts nicely between lurking and imposing segments into dramatic strings and insect-like chirps, ensuring that the piece never has a lull.
While his compositional strategies may be similar on Moments Lost to his two previous albums from 2023, this disc is a distinct statement. While Images centered specifically upon jazz recordings, the soundtracks used to construct Moments Lost are much more vague. This does lend some legitimacy to the thought that what sounds like source recordings shining through is actually that, given the soundtrack-like bombast to most of them, but it is hard to say for sure. Ambiguity has been something he revels in frequently, and it remains as engaging as it always is on here.
