As the album-opening "Leaving the Nowhere" slowly unspools with a rise/fall pattern of clustered electronic chimes over a steady background flow of suspended sound, the feeling Emanuele Errante creates right from the start is of depth and space. The emerging loops of what could almost be harpsichord and a distant beat accentuate this; from there Time Elapsing Handheld explores a similar series of sonic combinations often set on beds of background drones and washes. "Counterclockwise" has some distant percussion and the feeling of rain while a piano part takes a slow lead against a soft keyboard loop, while "Inner"'s juxtaposition of acoustic guitar snippets and arcing, serene notes is almost pure peace -- "Later, Earlier" is practically a sequel in terms of that feeling. On something like "Made to Give," in contrast, the dark, looming feedback hum from the start suggests threat, yet the skittering hints of beats and near-minimal melody help keep things in balance once more. "Dorian's Mirror" could be the best example of the album as a whole, both gently peaceful and, in its bass-heavy moments, suggestive of something in the background, waiting.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo