Borough 6 serves as a hauntingly inventive ode to the sixth borough, where Matthew Mirliani explores a vast landscape of ambient, atonal noise. Drawing inspiration from John Cage and Brian Eno, the record traverses distinct tonal worlds. Through a variety of atmospheric successes, Mirliani captures a mesmerizing unease that transforms urban mechanical textures and cinematic shadows into a grippingly immersive and soundscape-ready journey.

“Sunrise on the Palisades” opens the album with a gorgeous, introspective allure. Gentle piano layers intermingle amidst hints of background whispers and an engine-like ruminating. It then shifts into a beautifully sparse piano emphasis in its closing moments; the production is exemplary of Mirliani’s tonal range, succeeding across both spacious serenity and creative textures. “Hudson Bergen Line” comes next, succeeding in another realm entirely, eschewing elegance for bouncy momentum. A playful initial clanging, resembling bouncy balls, moves quickly into a pulsating synth repetition, and thereafter into a murky, creaking entrancement. Like many tracks on the release, “Hudson Bergen Line” is a gripping audible journey that traverses various tonal worlds.

The album’s strong atmospheric hold continues with “The Jersey Devil,” delectably eerie in its plucky instrumentation and ghostly choir resemblances. While that track excels in its steady flow, “Reservoir” compels in its nocturnal spaciousness, warbly and beckoning in its repeating effect, like a small animal’s call through a dark forest. “Hoboken in the Rain” is a grippingly cinematic success, infusing raindrops and creepy organ sounds for what would be a fantastic fit in a horror film; it’s a city known mostly for liveliness, but this casts a dark shadow, and enjoyably so.

Another standout track, “The Village” grounds itself in a consistent percussive pitter-patter, slithering seamlessly within cavernous thumps and reflections. “Shuttle Service” then arrives with a similarly subdued yet effective palette, here resembling a back-and-forth interaction between effervescent tones and more nighttime-set deepness. “Port Authority” continues the traversal through a rainy New Jersey/New York journey; its undercurrent aptly resembles a train in motion, while twinkling keys add a state of mesmerizing unease. The combination of chugging pulsations and ethereal elegance make for one of the album’s most scenic, and head-nodding, tracks.

Album finale “Return of the Jersey Devil” caps off the trek with a foreboding, Lynchian flair. Murmuring, haunting resonance builds into occasional swells, across its first half — cinematic and dark — before a conclusion that whirs and crackles its way into the darkness. Borough 6 is a consistently inventive, atmospherically captivating success from Matthew Mirliani.

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