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review by Bill Binkelman Proving yet again that good things come in small packages, this EP-length demo recording from the enigmatically-named Cheer Up Poems showcases an artist who appears to have a bright future in ambient electronic minimalism. Five short tracks (four in the three-minute range and one even shorter) serve up warm soft mixtures of repeated musical phrases (usually several notes long) over a floating collection of washes, drones, and textures. The effect is comforting without being either cloying or too pretty (new age music this is not). Comparisons are hard to make, although one could draw the inevitable dotted lines to Eno or James Johnson, although I personally think this artist belongs to the new generation of minimalists, e.g. Brain Ballet or other artists on the Magnanimous label, The Amaranth Signal, Sylken, or the equally enigmatically named "when I know you will too." What most impressed me on this EP was both the quality of recording and the way the artist weaves overall similarity of mood and basic sound structure in with subtle variations song-to-song. For example, he introduces clicking percussive rhythms in the background on track 2 "Sour Yellow Kiss," while liquid washes intermingle with almost neo-classical musical touches, and on the darker (yet still warm) "God in the Bible" swells of sound and gentle flute samples in the background invite comparisons to Tim Story, minus any overt piano. The closing title track features twinkling synths over a bed of multiple restrained buzz-saw textures. This juxtaposition of disparate elements could be disastrous but the artist handles it deftly. Of course, when tracks are only a few minutes long, it's easy to sustain interest. It's difficult to tell if a listener would stick around if these went on past five minutes without any discernible evolution or progression. On the other hand, if one looks at recordings like Eno's Neroli, that question may be easier to answer than I think. I don't know if the artist (whom I only know as Bill) intends on releasing this, but I hope he either makes this EP available or else incorporates these pieces into an album-length recording. Even at its ultra-short length, it still packs a lot of listening enjoyment for the fan of smoothly flowing minimal ambient music. |
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