Appearing less than a year after the release of
Johnny Jewel's solo debut
Windswept,
Digital Rain is an even more independent effort. Where
Windswept included tracks
Jewel recorded with bands like
Symmetry as well as on his own, each track here is a solo composition -- and feels like it was recorded in solitude. After establishing himself in the arid city of Los Angeles,
Jewel began to miss the rain and snow of places where he used to live, and challenged himself to create a wordless, beatless evocation of watery weather in its many forms. As a result,
Digital Rain puts more focus on his synth prowess than
Windswept did. Like much of his work, he evokes the '80s -- particularly on "Seven Corners"' mysterious chromatic tones and the ricocheting arpeggios of "Pulsations" -- but not slavishly.
Jewel bookends the album with two of its most elaborate pieces: The title track begins with the synth droplets that are one of the album's main motifs and builds into a sea of rippling, washy tones, while "Houston" gives the sophisticated,
Angelo Badalamenti-inspired mood of
Windswept a sci-fi sheen before fading out on the droplets that started it all. In between,
Jewel delivers soothing reflections and impressions of places dear to him (the misty "City of Roses," the delicately crisp "La Ville de Neige") and more abstract expressions of the album's concept (the surprising gusts of "Aerosol" and the splashy "Windscreen," one of the few times the sound of actual rain appears on the album). While
Digital Rain offers tiny shifts in mood on tracks such as "The Runner"'s study in tension and "Air Museum"'s build from serene to dramatic, its pieces melt into each other, giving the impression of a shimmering, elusive mirage. Subtle and accomplished, this is mood music perfect for a rainy night -- real or imagined.