Signaldrift: Girl
Audraglint

Girl finds Franz Bucholtz's third Signaldrift full-length ranging over broad stylistic territory in its thirteen somnambulant snapshots. The lapping shimmer of “Missed” suggests a Manual influence, as do the guitar cascades that drift over a sparkling base of clicking beats and shoegaze blur in “Missed but Hopeful.” Elsewhere, Bucholtz flirts with punchy hip-hop rhythms (“Aurora”), guitar-driven post-rock (“Inside Chance”), dreamy gamelan dub (“ Lake ”), lush atmospheres (“It Is”), and even samples the Teutonic grandeur of Gaseous ambient techno on “Giallo.” Girl impresses as a satisfying if somewhat derivative collection overall, with its singular flaw a stale snare sound that appears on several tracks; the aptly titled opener “Little Girl in the Woods,” for example, boasts a promisingly mysterious Celeste theme regrettably marred by a flat drum tone. The electronic instrumental album's oceanic approach ultimately makes for a rather genre-defying experience, though it should definitely appeal to fans of Manual and, to a lesser degree, Eno.

March 2005