steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

review
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info opinion

Renato Rinaldi

"The Time and The Room" CDR

Public Eyesore

Genres: experimental

Bryan Day
2464 Harney St. Apt. #15
Omaha, NE 68131

Feb 28 - Mar 6 2005

A strange little record, this.  Rinaldi works with ambient textures but, where most experimental performers opt for inaccessibility, he seems perfectly willing to inject tunefulness into his works.  There is a considerable amount of guitar plucking on this record, and the music is very overtly atmospheric.  There is a sense of darkness and loneliness that pervades much of The Time and the Room (including its cover art); indeed, these dense sound sculptures are practically a lesson in mood.

Due to this release's relative accessibility, it should appeal to open-minded fans who aren't necessarily acclimated to experimental music.  "Girls (The Room)," for example, is a mesmerizing piece of ambient sound art that uses a semi-melodic guitar line to add a little convention to the piece.  "The Column" is a bit more abstract, relying on some relaxing saxophone drones and a background of unsettling electronic tones, while "Funeral" is sparser and even more peaceful.  Finally, "Out of the Room" concludes the record in a damp, funereal vein - burying the listener in deep synths and dreary guitar strokes.  Overall, this is an emotional, experimental album whose atmospheric accessibility will aid it in appealing to a larger audience.

86%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 4 tracks, distributed by the label, released 2004]