RIYL: The Silent Type, Sigur Ros, Slowdive
When I got an album to review by the writer of our monthly home recording column (Home Sweet Home Recording), I thought that this had better be good. After all, we were passing Craig Christo off as an expert, touting his know-how for months, but you know what they say about writers sometimes: those who can't do, write. So I feared that listening to this album would leave me disappointed, and I was extremely happy to find out that the music of Sans Arc is by no means disappointing. On the contrary, this is an excellent and highly enjoyable album - not to mention the recording quality, done in Christo's own studio, is excellent.There are two kinds of artists I think of when I think home recording. The first is a man (or woman) and his guitar. It's simple, it sounds good on a cheap 4-track, and almost anyone can do it. The second is someone who uses their home studio to make a full-sounding recording. All the instruments are present here, even if they are all played by one person. There's many more of the former than the latter, since the latter approach takes far more effort, but it's often in taking the full-band approach that you get the true sense of how accomplished an artist - and his or her vision - truly is.On A Remote View, Christo plays everything, from guitars, bass, and drums to synth, melodica, and assorted effects. The result is eight songs that are lush and textured in sound, often long tracks filled with soft synth, melodic guitar work, and Christo's soothing vocals. After experimenting with a more IDM-style approach in his earlier work, on A Remove View, Sans Arc's music often sounds like it combines soft indie rock (ala Will Oldham or Smog) with the textured beauty of bands like Sigur Ros or Godspeed You Black Emperor, all with the kind of texture that hints at your favorite shoegazer bands.The songs here blend together a bit, likely intentionally to create a cohesive flow, while each is still unique enough. There's some clever and often quite beautiful touches - such as the ethereal backing vocals on "Gamma Rays" and the sampled vocals about UFOs that start "Riddle of Covered Eyes." The songs are quite intricate, featuring repetitive guitar lines and spacey synths, as evidenced on the dreamy opening title track and the drum machine-driven cool sounds of the closing "Space Theme." Some songs are more rocking, as shown on the distortion-laden "Lowest Form," which also features some simple yet lovely melodic guitars. The hushed vocals and melodic guitars on "Building a Desert" remind me, at times, of Appleseed Cast. While not being merely a soothing album, A Remote View is best saved for late evening listening. The end result is a kind of spaced-out sound, still centered around guitar and vocals but with enough layering to create a lush and textured sound throughout. It's a very nice, innovative approach, and it's one that will surely appeal to most of our readers. So I highly recommend taking a chance on a relatively unknown artist.- Jeff, 6/16/03 (of Delusions of Adequacy www.adequacy.net)