"the once and future world" is a brilliant title for an absolutely engaging instrumental release. The music is just as pondering, dark and beautiful as the title of the CD would suggest. Lush textures and melodies accompanied by faint and distance rhythms. The average track length is just long enough to put you into a comfortable trance-like state without over staying it's welcome. The CD packaging is more utilitarian than anything, offering little more than extremely minimalistic (though appropriate) art, a track list, credits and absolutely no information on "mingo" himself. Produced extremely well and an absolute joy to listen to. Stand out track: "time turned new".

A single take collaboration between guitarists Mirco Rizzi and Daniele Brusaschetto. "ri-tagli" is on the whole, an arrangement of extremely creative guitar-based textures and melodies. At many times the sounds sound so unlike a guitar you'd swear you were listening to synthesizers. The CD is very laid back sounding... excellent to chill out to . Very reminiscent of Howard Shores work on the David Cronenburg film "Crash". My only complaint is that, while all of the tracks are engaging, sometimes a couple of them seem to get lost within themselves leaving us, the listening audience, feeling slightly abandoned. Recommended tracks: "lunga 02" and "ghghghghghghghgh".

::thinkstandard:: is one Steve Molter. His newest release entitled "The Three Enemies" is based upon a poem by the same name written by poet Christina Rossetti (1830-1894, pseudonym Ellen Alleyne). The CD spans the poems three stanzas "The Flesh", "The World" and "The Devil". It's a largely ambient release relying heavily upon unique guitar work ranging from soothing melodies to a much more caustic droning. Unlike a lot of ambient/experimental recordings this never at any point seems redundant. New tones and melodies drift in and out effortlessly while painting audio interpretations of the religious conflicts the poem itself represents. Of the three stanzas "The Flesh" and "The Devil" are my favorites. They seem to work the best as a pair as "The Devil" references "The Flesh" well, recalling previous themes and altering the context. Overall a solid, well-produced piece of brooding soundscapes that manage to cross a diverse range of emotions without becoming overboard or too "cartoony". Molter handles his sound designs well and casts them onto the platter with a delicate touch.

This is the third release from the dark ambient artist "Svartsinn" and according to the their label, Cyclic Law, the end of a trilogy. I haven't had the opportunity to hear Svartsinn's two previous releases but even when coming in on the end of a three part act, this CD is still very effective. Dark sustained tones, minimalistic melodies and an abundance of atmospheric sounds sum of the general ambiance of this release. As a disturbingly calm yet gloomy soundtrack to a dark and stormy evening in the home this really hits the spot. Production-wise the disc is spot on. The packaging (I received the digipak), while minimalistic like the music, looks fantastic and fits well with the themes heard on the CD. Stand out tracks: "Traces of Nothingness" and "Lost in Reveries".

photophob is one Herwig Holzman. This release, "your majesty machine" is immediately appealing. Intense rhythms, playful soundscapes and well executed melodic leads pretty sum up this release. It's an instrumental release and unlike many instrumental releases, this is dripping with character. Each song has a unique flavor but not too much to keep the CD from working as a whole either. Very well balanced. I'd love to hear some vocals with some of this music but on it's own it works perfectly. I'm just a fan of vocal narrative. The cover art on the release is absolutely fantastic and really goes a long way to sum up the entire vibe the CD has to offer. The only criticism I have is that a few of the tracks over stay their welcome. Too much of a good thing can sometimes take away from the initial impact a song can have. Stand out tracks include "The Starlight Eater" and "While Venting".