Stars of the Lid

As their name suggests, with its reference to galaxies glimpsed behind eyes shut tight, post-classical duo Stars of the Lid aim to capture an ephemeral experience of the sublime. Guitarists Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie formed the duo in Austin, Texas, in the early ‘90s, and, in their early years, they pursued a style of pure ambient drone music in keeping with the sounds of Kranky, the Chicago post-rock label that released their debut, 1995’s Music for Nitrous Oxide. Gradually, their sound began to swell: they folded in piano and strings on 2001’s sprawling The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid, and they took their electro-acoustic fusion even further on their cinematic 2007 LP, And Their Refinement of the Decline, among the slowest, saddest records in the ambient canon. McBride continued his pursuit of the infinite on his 2010 solo album, The Effective Disconnect, while Wiltzie turned his efforts to his equally starry-eyed duo with soundtrack composer Dustin O’Halloran, ‎A Winged Victory For The Sullen.