Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Friends Of Dean Martinez - Retrograde
 | Lying somewhere between the drawn out dreamy desertscapes of Scenic and the nowhere land of film credit music, this band seems to be working towards some placid existence for the meditating X-er. Occasional brilliance punctuates an otherwise unremarkable landscape. Not particularly original or interesting. |
Picks: Rattler, Lonesome, Fresca, Cabeza De Mojado, Nile Blues, Westbound #11, Ask The Dust, Monte Carlo, False Serpentine Compassion, The Warmth Of The Sun, I Will Wait For You, Retrograde
Track by Track Review
Moodscapes (Instrumental)
Big stereo guitar on vibrato & fuzz slowly and moodily meandering through a landscape of eerie proportions. The sudden tape-stop end is odd. Big spacious and cool.
Moodscapes (Instrumental)
Moody & like a loungie sophisticated version of Scenic.
Fresca Moodscapes (Instrumental)
Bongos and Lawrence Welk for the ambient generation.
Moodscapes (Instrumental)
Moderate pace and nice melody in a movie credit kind of way. Pleasant, but unremarkable.
Nile Blues Moodscapes (Instrumental)
Too slow and moody for my tastes...
Westbound #11 Moodscapes (Instrumental)
A train passes across the distant valley floor, and you're glad you're not on it... ambient.
Ask The Dust Moodscapes (Instrumental)
Delicate and melodic. More than ambient, less than attention holding.
Monte Carlo Moodscapes (Instrumental)
The toms and glissando peek your interest, but quickly descend into fifties detective themes. Only the first bar or two are interesting, the rest being derivative and less than exciting.
False Serpentine Compassion Moodscapes (Instrumental)
Big thump ambient.
The Warmth Of The Sun Moodscapes (Instrumental)
A Moon River-ish version of the Beach Boys classic. Sappy and never delivers the goods.
I Will Wait For You Moodscapes (Instrumental)
Bongos, organ, and cheese.
Retrograde Moodscapes (Instrumental)
Cool guitar sounds and eerie tones, but it's so laid back, it's almost asleep. Like one of the scene scapes from Red Rock West, but without the visual aides.