Music for a Meteor Shower is the fruit of two improvised sessions between indie rockers
Tara Jane O'Neil (
Rodan,
Retsin,
the Sonora Pine) and Dan Littleton (
Ida). The effort is primarily instrumental and based around guitar, often going for redundant ambience rather than any kind of structured excursions. The results, while interesting and perhaps useful as soundtrack pieces, seem to hardly warrant release as an album. "Talking in the Kitchen," for example, seems to test the patience of the listener, with an acoustic guitar figure plucked repetitively throughout. The song is perhaps an interesting idea -- in that it plays on the listener's expectations and, despite itself, creates a feeling of suspense -- but "ideas" don't always make for engaging musical listening. Other tracks, "Juliette," for example, plunge headlong into willful avant-gardisms that can become discordant and grating. The ambience on this album can be strikingly emotionless and cold at times. ~ Erik Hage