As 2025 draws to a close, I’m continuing to highlight some of the best albums of the year that I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. This is one of them.

Over the years as a member of Stella Kola, Pigeons and The Weeping Bong Band and a collaborator with the likes of Jeffrey Alexander, Sunburned Hand of the Man and PG Six, Wednesday Knudsen has explored and dominated just about every extreme of volume and intensity, but on Atrium, her fifth solo LP, she has mastered a new level of quiet subtlety and making the most with very little. This expansive double album is built up out of evocative minimalist jazz, modernist classical and soft drone pieces, all of which drift along at a peacefully patient pace.

There’s a close focus in these tracks. Each and every note feels delicately chosen and executed. The very vibration of each note appears to be revered and given the space and time to fully exist and decay, and to be appreciated wholly and purely. This album must have been as meditative to create as it is to listen to. Long resonating sax, piano and other organic instruments richly ring out together, creating lush, yet unusual harmonies. The resulting soundscapes were formed from the sonic architecture, color and texture of these combined woodwind, string and brass instruments. Knudsen has always painted vividly with sound, yet here, she created vast, rolling seascapes with her most elemental aural palette yet.

Soothing and transportive from start to finish, this is a record to sink yourself into and get to know intimately well. Get your copy from SPINSTER today.

-KH