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review by Dene Bebbington New age electronic musician Bill McGee (recording under the name Composure) is surely a busy man. Since 2003 he's put out several self-released albums a year, including a soundtrack to the independent film Lexie Cannes. Going by what others have said about his music, and including my impressions of this release, it seems that One Time Around is a further step in the maturing of this composer. Though I describe Bill as a new age EM artist this is actually a difficult album to classify, it certainly doesn't invite easy comparisons to other artists. Anyway, the album consists of twelve discrete tracks with the longest only being a little over six minutes. A mysterious atmosphere pervades most of the music, maybe that's partly because listening to One Time Around is kind of like the aural equivalent of being in a darkened room - possibly because of the extensive use of dull bass sounds. The first track to stand out was "Burning Sands", on this piece brooding deep male -- almost choral -- wordless vocals come and go like deep breathes as thudding drum beats also keep the piece moving. An occasional synth melody with a wistful lilt is heard, adding to the singular atmosphere of the album. It's not all heavy going though, the shortest track "Departure" doesn't shy away from a bass line (in this case it hints at rumbling) but is in my opinion the most optimistic piece on the album. The title of this track coupled with bright and hopeful melodies made me think of the pleasant anticipation of a departing flight to an overseas holiday. An interesting aspect of "Departure" is the repeating short melody that provides a structure a little like the piece "Bangkok" on Jon Mark's classic Asia Journey. Judging by One Time Around I'd say that Composure is an artist to keep an eye on in the future. There are occasional hints of amateurism, for example, on "Sunset Eyes" it was distractingly easy to imagine a guy sitting at his Korg Triton Workstation playing over preset rhythms; nevertheless it's apparent that he's an artist with substantial composing ability. |
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