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review by Bill Binkelman Cut from the same cloth (although not a clone or cookie-cutter imitation) as label-mate Amethystium's Odonata and Aphelion, Ryan Farish's Beautiful is one hundred percent electronica ear candy. Like the Norwegian artist (i.e. Amethystium is actually Oystein Ramfjord), Farish creates his music from a blend of silky smooth electronic keyboards (as sampled instruments and as overtly synthetic sounds), percolating catchy beats and sensual rhythms in the mold of Enigma. Dagda, NuSound et al. Farish, however, explores other electronica territory as well, sometimes hewing closer to spacy textures instead of the more primal and tribal sounds that Amethystium seems to favor. While the similarities between the two are obvious, Farish easily carves out his own unique place on the continuum. If there is a downside to this album, it's simply that by its very nature, this music can start to sound somewhat homogenous after awhile (this is also because echoed piano is frequently featured playing the lead melody on many of the songs). On the other hand, the production, engineering, and sheer quality of the music itself more than balances this out. If you're going to indulge in ear candy, you may as well make it Godiva® chocolates, and not a run of the mill Snickers® bar. For me, Beautiful succeeds best when Farish strikes out away from the Enigma-esque combination of sultry female vocals, high-hat beats, and breathy flutes and instead concentrates on a "pure" electronica/chill-out sound via a mixture of echoed piano against layered synths and bubbly electronic percussion. There are more than a few songs where he does just this. He also takes a unique approach to how he uses his female chorale effects on some tracks, the result sounding like "Enya goes electronica" ("Adoration" is a good example of this, with its plucked harps, pretty piano, shuffling beats and lush choirs). "Sunshine in the Rain," the opening track, has a happy yet chilled vibe to its piano, shuffling rhythms, and synth arpeggios. "Sea of You" blends drum and bass beats with moody sonar-like synths and piano and then folds in those sexy Enigma-like beats as well. "Chasing the Sun" is one of the catchiest numbers on the album, with hushed female choirs, reverberating twinkling synth tones, and well-engineered wooden flute samples. I wasn't bowled over by every song here. "Letting Go (Interlude)," a slowed-down track featuring only piano (sounding more acoustic than on other songs) and subtle synth shadings, seems to derail the positive energy from the previous cuts (and, with the subtitle "Interlude" that's perhaps the point). "Everlasting" is another track that didn't do it for me, again probably because it's slower in tempo and is not distinguished by either its instrumentation or melodic content. Finally, the last cut (the title song) is somewhat out of character with the rest of the album. Acoustic piano, subtle synth strings, a dash of female choirs, and solo cello combine to end the album on a peaceful and quiet note, but the music itself is closer to David Lanz than everything else on the CD - a jarring paradox. One thing worth mentioning if you are a frequent viewer (as I am) of The Weather Channel is that Farish has licensed some of his music to that network. The track that I instantly recognized as background music to "Local on the 8's" is the bouncy yet mysterious "Secret Garden" (one of the real standouts here, by the way). Even with my criticisms of Beautiful, I'd be lying if I didn't also compliment it. It's an excellent recording and is certain to please chill-out fans or followers of the artists mentioned earlier in the review. The appeal of all those catchy beats, smooth synths, and evocative piano, wrapped in textbook perfect production and engineering, is undeniable. Like fine chocolate, Beautiful is both delicious and impossible to resist. You'd be a fool not to indulge in it (at least a little), and as such, I recommend the album. It may not "fill you up" but it sure will taste good going down! |
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