 Mychael Danna & Tim Clément A primo piece of mid-80s new age, sounding quite a bit like Victorialand by Cocteau Twins, or David Sylvian's ambient excursions from the same era … but with more bubbling water and birdsong. Though you may pass off a Cocteau or Sylvian record to your snootier friends as being "alternative" (and therefore cool), Summerland is "alternative" more in the sense of "alternative medicine" – music to heal cancer to. The packaging doesn't help, as it could not look more generic, like one of those "Soothing Music" CDs you see at Target, next to the electric waterfall-type shit. But it's certainly one of the best contemporary instrumental albums I've ever heard, a genuinely healing blend of Kitaro's spaciness, Sylvian's smooth introspection, and your local acupuncturist's sense of inner calm. If your cup of tea is, like, yerba mate, then choose the Cocteaus instead, but if Sleepytime sounds good, Summerland is just the thing. Hm, did I just use the phrase "your cup of tea" literally? I'm not sure that's ever happened before. Well, anyway, this record deserves shelf-space alongside your "cooler" ambient records, because sometimes you don't need "futuristic soundscape" as much as "security blanket for the fragile child inside." I don't care what anyone says, you can not meditate to an Eno album.
Review by La Fée |