Olivine

After three tracks in or near waltz time, ‘Olivine’ shifts the rhythm to a more relaxed, even-keel groove and the album opens up noticeably. It runs at a comfortable pace in a minor key, but carries itself like a track in no hurry to prove anything, which turns out to be its greatest asset. The lead guitar hooks are genuinely melodic, the organ sits warm and wide in the mix, and the rhythm section keeps it all from floating away. That organ is the detail that matters most at this point in the sequence: it broadens the sonic palette and signals that the album is bigger than its opening trio suggested. For an instrumental, it earns its nearly four minutes by cycling through enough variation to stay interesting without overreaching. Think early Allman Brothers in the pocket, or a John Mayall track that trusts the groove.