park avenue music

A shiny, sparkling piano is the backbone to every shiny, sparkling song on this release

from Sacramento couple Park Avenue Music. Sizzling in short electronic bursts spark drum machines, samples and fuzzy, warm synthesizers. ItÕs a pleasant juxtaposition between the raw organics of acoustic piano playing throughout the album and the

manufactured sterility of controlled digital noise and distortion; itÕs a soundtrack atmosphere of ethereal ambience.

While the lack of structure may repel some listeners, others will be moved by the powerful imagery of complicated environments and specific places created within a mostly-instrumental soundscape. Airy vocals decorate some of the tracks and play perfectly into the mood. Distorted beatboxing samples function as an incredibly effective beat and reversed cello creates handsome vacuums of natural tones. Pitted against the spectrum of digital distortion, ring modulations, delays, reversed and bit-crushed synths, samples and drum machine, these organics resonate with a wonderful clarity, leaving the songs open to movement and the music between the notes.

Those inclined to experimental noise will be contented with the vast range of clicking, buzzing, whirring and pretty much every digital effect imaginable being tweaked tastefully above and beneath layers of jazzy piano progressions, reverberating through outer space. In fact, this is the record that, in a parallel universe, was supposed to be recorded in a lunar space station by Brian Eno and Aphex Twin, with guest appearances from Nico and Billie Holiday. But since that fell through, one can be thankful for Wes Steed and Jeannette ÒJujuÓ Faith who are making sounds that will create imaginary places-to-be here on the West Coast. - performermag