Almost Every Day, the first compilation from the New York-based imprint Deleted, is a continuation of the label’s exploration of delicate, beautiful pop music. It’s music somewhere between the bedroom and the orchestra pit. The liner notes for the comp are a must-read; they meditate on the role of its title in the creation of a poetics of location. Games, stages, places—it’s as though the compilation is a map, but maps cannot be read with a beginning and an end. Eyrie Alzate’s cover artwork operates as an anchor, with its four-by-four grid imbuing the release with a sense of structure and passage. A designated prelude kicks off the work and underscores the importance of its sequence.

To start, Fall River Music Project’s cover of “Alfie” glides into Keziah’s “Embellir Par la Torsion” before Fall River and Lilic’s “Nocturne” brings lush synths into the fold. Next comes “High Tree Tops,” Glint’s reworking of The Police’s “King of Pain.” There is a sequential enjambment with wish’s “Time Remembered,” as sampled vocals and isolated keys interrupt the smoothness for a moment before the drums that kick off Nudo’s “Prenda Del Alma” interrupt once again. That title, translated to “Garment of the Soul,” reworks a sampled corrido, furthering the games of history, lineage, and time being played throughout the compilation. Still echoing in my mind is the sampled voice on that song, calling out “mi corazon” among a reconstituted sonic landscape, the passageway having reached its end.