Audiopile Review: Hauntology was a distinctly early-2000s phenomenon, emerging from the blogosphere surrounding Mark ‘K-Punk’ Fisher. Labels like Ghost Box and Mordant Music tapped into Boards of Canada-style electronics to explore the death of post-war utopianism in 1970s Britain. For many folks, this aesthetic was so resonant that it basically became their whole thing. See Vancouver’s own Hotham Sound label for a distinctly Canadian take on the hauntological project. No musical act exemplifies the admirable stubbornness of yer hauntology lifer better than Pye Corner Audio aka Martin Jenkins. ‘The Endless Echo’, Jenkins’ new album for Ghost Box, dovetails nicely with the recent upsurge of interest in folk-horror films. Its cinematic feel should be no surprise, as Jenkins is a noted soundtrack composer. Hauntology can be a little goofy, with its parping vintage synths and jaunty library-music melodies. But this is deep, dark music, unafraid of dissonance and complexity. It’s proof that the sub-genre has only continued to grow in scope and relevance over the last two decades. And it’s a clear stand-out release in the Pye Corner Audio discography.

The Endless Echo is the fifth album on Ghost Box for the highly prolific Martin Jenkins. Pye Corner Audio cinematic electronica shifts effortlessly between brooding ambience and menacing dance floor grooves. It evokes awe-inspiring vistas and moments of sublime spine-tingling wonder. This time around Jenkins draws inspiration from scientific and science-fictional notions about the nature of time and the idea that it may be entirely unreal.

Pye Corner Audio’s discography includes eleven full length albums and many more singles and EPs across several labels. There are also remixes for John Foxx, Mogwai, Ride’s Andy Bell, Mark Lanegan, Maps, Apta, Alice Hubble, Stealing Sheep, Knightstown, Dolphin Midwives and Japanese Television. Pye Corner Audio’s music appears in the soundtracks to Adam Curtis’s 2016 film HyperNormalisation, the 2018 Shudder TV series Deadwax, Sky TV’s 2019 sci-fi drama series Curfew and 2022 Netflix documentary Slay. As a live performer Pye Corner’s Martin Jenkins (aka The Head Technician) has played shows and festivals all over Europe, Canada and the USA. Most notably he has supported Mogwai on several tour dates, played the Mutek festival in Montreal, the Mugako Festival in Spain, and Barcelona’s Primavera Club.