3 out of 5

Produced by: Daniel Burton

Label: Secretly Canadian

I think I’m supposed to find Ativin’s Interiors to be brilliantly restrained or something, but… I sorta maybe just find it boring.  The electronic /ambient manipulations – bookending the album, and interspersed between tracks – feel stunted, not fully invested in the disc’s minimalist credo and so burbling with potential before stuttering out without creating much.  The quiet / loud instrumentation that was passionately effected on German Water isn’t as passionate, and doesn’t explore different territory than that prior album, although it still sounds great translated through Burton’s warm production.  More interesting are the subdued tracks that land somewhere inbetween, which hint at Early Day Miners style whispery emotional drone, but stacked against the other two described song types, it’s hard to fully settle into these songs; followup Night Mute would find a better method for balancing these approaches.

Interiors is quality – produced and played well.  But it’s neither here nor there; too wishy-washy to make a lasting impact.