Fantastic Planet

Experimental musician Sarah Lipstate took on the moniker Noveller for her solo instrumental guitar work. Implementing a small arsenal of looping pedals and other processing gear, Noveller turned out beautifully cinematic albums like the darkly beautiful tones of 2013's No Dreams and the frigid daydreams of 2011's aptly named Glacial Glow. Seventh album Fantastic Planet sees Lipstate moving away from the meditative darkness that has defined much of her work, growing into something more deliberately celebratory, excitable, and indeed fantastical. Much of the time since Noveller's 2005 inception has found Lipstate in transit, be that in the form of constant touring or frequent relocation between Texas, New York, and parts in between. She found herself stationed back in her home state of Texas during the completion of Fantastic Planet, and the wide-open spaces and dusty wonderment of that environment can be heard on sprawling pieces like "Concrete Dreams." More than earthly plains, though,