[reviews] afe117lcd
alistair crosbie: musicforshipwrecks

Giving your album a strikingly similar cover image to one of the finest compositions of the 20th century, the Les Disques Du Crepuscule release of Gavin Bryars' "Sinking of the Titanic", is always going to grab my attention but it does place the album in a perilous place regarding the expectations it has raised in my mind.

Musically, there are similarities also, as Crosbie's muse is a melodically ambient one and he is imbuing the music with a distinctly aquatic feel (as you can probably guess from the title).

On first listen I wasn't too taken with "Musicforshipwrecks" as it seemed a little insubstantial but subsequently I've discovered previously un-noticed depths and have grown to like it very much indeed.

The production lets it down as it sounds a little timorous and thin in places and the sounds often strain during the swells. This may be deliberate but, whether it is or not, it is distracting. The nineteen (and change) minutes of the second track is the real gem here as it rolls and soars throughout but the other three are all eminently listenable. Recommended.

[Ian Holloway]