Carousel by Robin Guthrie

Nice is not enough,
yet it is the perfect word
for this Carousel.

There is something wonderfully warm and ripe and full about Robin Guthrie's Carousel.

This ten track album from 2009 is deceptively nice, which would be almost insulting if said by itself. Nice is fleshed out by the album's sonic depth, its layers of expansive sound. The album's cover art is an apt visual analogy. The music gives the sense of timeless drifting, a warm throbbing sea, sunlight's shimmering phrasing.

Draw your own conclusions from this sample. A simple search on YouTube for "Robin Guthrie Carousel" will yield more results from the album.

The ten tracks on Carousel are relatively brief, sort of mood vignettes. To my ear, there's also a bit of late 1980s tonality to some of Guthrie's guitar work that when heard anchors the track like a pebble dropped into a fountain. And time and time again I find myself settling back for another ride on Guthrie's vibrant Carousel.

You can find Robin Guthrie online at www.robinguthrie.com.

I received no compensation of any kind for this review.