What do you get when you mix dramatic, classical oriented strings, minimalist-ish composition, jazz influences, and weird electronic beats? You get this album, and it is fascinating. Imagine the legitimized lovechild of an orgy between Jaga Jazzist, Mum, Kim Hiorthoy, Phillip Glass, Michael Nyman, and Joe Hisaishi.

Lars Horntveth (from Norway) is the composer, conductor, and a performer – the album features ten strings players and a diverse variety of instruments (he plays some himself). Horntveth, by the way, is a lead member of Jaga Jazzist. And it shows: his sax and clarinet parts are jazzy and unabashed, and the beats are electronic and irregular. But the stirring strings add a spellbinding dimension of emotiveness. The whole album comes across as the score to an intense film, yet this is a soundtrack suited for the most epic of things - the birth of a universe, the fall of great empires, a heroic battle to save the world. Fuckin' awesome! Definitely one of the most "original" albums of 2004.

Track 6 is riveting - one of my favorite cuts this year! Also try: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8

- Captain Dee, 8-2004

**1. Nostalgic electronic purring, cheerful strings pluck away, Mum-ish clicking beat. Hopeful sax and guitar melodies anchored in beautiful strings. Rich. (7:17)
**2. Twangy guitar, starry-eyed sax playing, cello, electronic-ish riff, and fast clicking beat. A heavy air of apprehension. (4:25)
**3. Starts with a tempest of Glassian strings. Things chill out temporarily with quiet droning strings, and sad sax. But then everything builds gradually in theatrical fashion, with a hint of hope. No beat. Wow! (5:28)
4. String plucks all over the place, mysterious clarinet, charged atmosphere. Strings play with gusto later on. (5:03)
*5. Fuller, "splatting" beat over holy choral/organ ambience. Clarinet and strings play together. Sustained dissonance fades in, and everything crumbles apart beautifully and slowly. (5:49)
***6. Swelling strings blast torrents of stark drama in rhythmic spurts. The string plucks, chimes, and understated beat make the orchestra all the more dramatic by contrast. Towards the end, Horntveth's sax sings out amid the raging storm. Absolutely riveting. (7:43)
7. Upbeat plucking strings everywhere, distant violin. Loud, hard drums, incessant guitar strums, and noise kick in half way. Crescendos to the end. (2:14)
*8. Slow, relaxing guitar juxtaposed with waves of angular orchestration that blossom over time. No beat. (8:00)