I'm sure I'll get flack from other members of the TSB staff for this, especially considering "A Stone Inside the Box" was track of the week two weeks ago and Chihei Hatakeyama was artist of the week at the same time, but as far as his new record Saunter is concerned, I have one thing to say right off the bat: I really hate a significant portion of this record. The tones that Hatakeyama chose to work with hurt my ears and the compositions themselves are wholly uninteresting to me, leading to a recurring listening experience that was mostly painful. However, I have managed to dig out some things about this album that perhaps the more ambient-friendly listener may perk up her ears at.

The first two tracks of this collection are a pair of long droney pieces that, while good, aren't exactly a breakout. Both are characterised by the use of long, layered, reverberating tones that mingle and weave with each other the way many soundscapists make them before being interrupted by a quickly ascending run of sounds that remind me of tapes being played backward, or a cellist dragging his bow up the string instead of across. These sounds, though not especially pleasant in my opinion, are rather new, and are spun well in their respective contexts. In "The Room in Past", they act almost like a chorus, separating "verses" and offering a reliable anchor for the listener.

For my money, "Images of Broken Light" is eight-and-a-half wasted minutes you're better off skipping - it's pretty much one high-pitched tone with the same processing as the first two tracks and nothing much in the way of garnish. However, the double guitars - one acoustic, one electric - that are featured on "A Stone Inside the Box," are a delightful reprieve. The warm, clean colour of the electric guitar "melody" accentuates the introspective quality of this song, which is made even more powerful by the use of light drone chords in the background. Combined with the delicate "Small Pond" and the quiet outro "Landscape on a Hill," a somewhat synaesthetic experience is created, bringing to mind the the image and colour of scotch or Irish whiskey, possibly even a fine brandy - something warm and amber that is by associated by definition with richness of taste and body.

This record is called Saunter, and after listening to it, digging through its innards and trying to make sense of everything there I can only conclude that either a) there is some secret meaning of the word saunter with which I am not familiar, or b) something was lost in translation. This record lacks the confidence, possibly even the machismo that the term "saunter" brings to mind; instead, this record is more of a stroll - quiet, contemplative at times, and generally unassuming.

Linguistic mix-ups aside, Saunter is a pretty good album. There are some missteps at the beginning, but it ends strong, and perhaps one with a better-equipped electronic palette would see these less as problems than as additional flavours to be savoured. Regardless of personal taste, though, Saunter glows in its second half, and fans of nearly any style should be able to appreciate and enjoy it.

-Lee Stablein