Styrofoam: Nothing's Lost
Morr Music

In which Arne Van Petegem creates near-perfect electronic pop and somehow makes doing so sound easy. Unlike the overly dour I'm What's There To Show That Something's Missing, Nothing's Lost adds invigorating uplift to Styrofoam's signature melancholia. Perhaps his impressive array of contributors has something to do with it as Van Petegem appears solo on only three songs and generously shares the spotlight elsewhere. The downtempo opener “Misguided,” for example, is sweetened by Valerie Trebeljahr's supple presence while Brendon Whitney's (aka Alias) rap sounds anything but incongruous, and in fact kicks the tune to a higher level (Whitney adds programming to the album too). Van Petegem's talent for vocal counterpoint is showcased to marvelous effect on the anthemic, nine-minute closer “Make It Mine” but most especially on “Couches In Alleys” and “Front To Back.” The former poignantly showcases Ben Gibbard's (Death Cab For Cutie/The Postal Service) wistful singing and heavenly harmonies, while Andrew Kenny's (American Analog Set) delectable falsetto glides over the silky surfaces of the latter. The new album's stronger guitar emphasis makes for a heavier and denser sound though one never so pronounced it becomes overbearing (the exception being “Your Eyes Only” where excessive drum clatter slightly displaces the focus from the song's gorgeous melodies). Weaknesses? While enjoyable enough, the bubblegum electropop of “Anything” (with singing by Bent Van Looy and Miki Yoshimura) sounds slightly anomalous in this context. Aside from that, however, Nothing's Lost in its best moments flirts with pop nirvana.

November 2004