“There’s always a danger in leaving the past,” sings Tim Presley. His 10th release under the White Fence moniker carries an unfettered sense of pop history indebted, in places, to John Cale. An eerie, whimsical sheen coats jaunty guitars, arty baroque keys, and choral intonations, with delicate lyrics skewing surprisingly funny at times as they warp the burdens of addiction and the lovelorn. The final third of this 56-minute run wades into an ambient daydream that serves as a clear-headed rumination on the thematic fogginess that came before. (Sat. 9, Empire Control Room, 4:30pm)
This article appears in November 8 • 2019.