Anodyne Electric co. L.A.

 

The marriage of sampled and electronic instrumentation with live instrumentation is certainly not new to the music world, but it is still growing, morphing, and becoming as diverse in expression as any `traditional' mode of music. This debut release from `Frank Hill Ensemble' is a collection of grooves that exists in that magical space between electronica and organic music created by a group--and their particular union gives birth to something wholly original and energizing.

Listening to these tracks you're not always sure what's live and what's pre-recorded or arranged--and ultimately you don't really care, because the effect is so wonderfully sublime. The songs move with a calm assurance, sometimes playful, sometimes moody, but always begging the listener to let his or her thoughts roll on out like a road trip with friends or a Sunday stroll through that neighborhood where all the artists live...

I love the whole album, but for me, highlights include the laid-back-funk opener "Claremont Avenue Segue," the enigmatic drifter "Rock Terrine," the moody groove "Redroom", the summertime rambler "Venture at our Market", and the oddly emphatic dirge-like closer "It Begins".

And don't let `em tell you the `album is dead'. This collection is thoughtfully arranged from beginning to end and back to the beginning again.