Former Portland denizen Thomas Meluch, AKA Benoît Pioulard, first garnered notice about a decade ago as a Nick Drake-like figure for the post-IDM set, shading his delicate songs with the sort of muted faded-rainbow gauze favored by electronic dreamweavers like Fennesz and Tim Hecker. In the last couple of years, though, songs (in the traditional sense, anyway) have receded into the background—recent releases like last year's Sonnet give over to crackling, calmly assertive instrumental miniatures inspired by sounds from the natural world. Surprisingly, this more abstract approach has made for some of the most engaging shows of Meluch's career, and Holocene's well-equipped environs are sure to help conjure new layers of sound for him, and you, to explore. DUSTIN KRCATOVICH