Kevin Bronson on March 20th, 2020

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And now for something invitingly understated:

Blake Mills has announced that his new album, “Mutable Set,” will be out May 8. It’s described as an album that juxtaposes harmony and dissonance, swells of orchestration and quietude. “This record deals with an awareness of two things — people and experiences in life that are precious, and whatever waits down the moat for something to drop,” Mills says in the album announcement. “I’ve seen the phrase ‘mutable set’ used to describe theater backdrops and set props, things like that. And ‘mute’ might be one of the best musical terms ever invented. So ‘Mutable Set’ is a term that deals with anything that could change or be lost all together.”

Long revered for his work as a guitarist, Mills has evolved into a songwriter, composer and producer who has worked with the likes of Alabama Shakes, Fiona Apple, John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Jay-Z, Laura Marling, Phoebe Bridgers, Randy Newman and Perfume Genius. He won a Grammy for producing Alabama Shakes’ “Sound & Color” in 2015.

For “Mutable Set,” his fourth album and the follow-up to 2018’s ambient collection “Look,” Mills worked at Sound City Studios with a crew that included keyboardist Aaron Embry (Elliot Smith, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), saxophonist Sam Gendel (Vampire Weekend, Moses Sumney), string player Rob Moose (Alabama Shakes, Bon Iver), drummer Abe Rounds (Meshell Ndegocello, Andrew Bird) and bassist Pino Palladino (The Who, D’Angelo). Singer-songwriter Cass McCombs collaborated on the lyrics.

Justin Daashuur Hopkins directs the video for the earful that is “Vanishing Twin,” a six-minute tune whose pulsing synth and warm vocals usher in a sweeping orchestral finish. As the strings and feedback engage in a restrained duel, you feel like nothing is settled but everything is beautiful.

||| Watch: The video for “Vanishing Twin”