Playful. Even if you think you’re not interested in experimental/ambient music, you should check this out. One of the best ways to get a feel for this is to read the list of instruments on the jacket cover (a few highlights: violin, prepared guitar, turntable, audio cable, coffeepot, glockenspiel, can). There is a really amazing diversity amongst the tracks. Sometimes beautiful, always interesting. On many of the tracks, it’s difficult to identify or even describe some of the sounds: these tracks will get cute descriptions like “Curious Robots go to the Carwash.” No FCC’s. All tracks are pretty short. Volume levels don’t fluctuate too much. I love this album!

Track 1: Recorder with muted helicopter sounds.
Track 2: Like early Nine Inch Nails, even with Reznorish vocal moaning.
Track 3: Frogs, cicadas, and assorted unidentified wildlife sounds, plus a plaintive violin. Funny!
Track 4: Cute curious R2D2-like robots spend a fun day at the carwash. Things turn ominous, but end with the robots getting down.
Track 5: A sparse mix of sampled and electronically generated sounds. Begins with what sounds like ridged stainless steel balls rolling around on a tabletop as curious robots comment quietly. Dolphins come, and there is a shoot-out. Dolphin down!
Track 6: Medieval pipes and drum. Wouldn’t sound out of place on a very different album. Belongs in the Ingmar Bergman movie The Seventh Seal, in its slightly knowing and informal historicism. 5/4 time!
Track 7: Starts with the sound of big doors slamming shut far down an echoing hallway. Segue to ominous swamp sounds. The plaintive strings make another appearance, accompanied by quiet Roswell, NM sounds. Eventually the strings become angry and pulsing and the bells show up. The bells get down, and what sounds like a clarinet (but isn’t) shows up. Things get rhythmic and a little skronky. At a little over 4 minutes longer than most.
Track 8: A rhythmic clanking and tapping.
Track 9: Washy industrial sounds in background are a very short intro to what sounds like a slightly electronically tweaked tremolo cello. Delicate squiffings. Very normal (if slightly squeaky) violin comes in. The industrial sounds get more prominent and beachy, then helicoptery, and the strings subside.
Track 10: Led Zeppelin electric guitar accompanied by a violin that sounds as if it’s being played by Jimi Hendrix ® dogmatic strings ® squeaky strings.
Track 11: Bubbly underwater industrial underwater rockets firing. Home electronics beeping. Long painful beeps.
Track 12: Medieval melody played on living room organ with a mellow modern heartbeat.
Track 13: Native American-sounding vocals. Quiet ambient sounds. Cloppy hoof sounds.
Track 14: Banging pots. Tinkly prepared guitar.
Track 15: Good ol’ country banjo pickin’ with an oddly reggae-ish baseline.
Track 16: High soft tonal buzzing. Very soft percussion in the bass. Gets unpleasantly insecty after a while.
Track 17: A violin playing what sounds a lot like the beginning of Part’s Fratres underlaid with another more melodic violin and what sounds like an underwater kazoo or someone blowing his nose very skillfully and tonally.
Track 18: Stentorian squealing bass clarinet sound. Contemplative feel. Ambient background. Alternating violin/clarinet melody overlaid. The violin waxes lovely.
Track 19: Bug-zapper noises, triangle, rhythmic percussion and harmonica. Ghostly return of the medieval melody. Short (52 seconds).
-Kathryn