National Skyline

This = Everything (File 13)
by Tim Den

Gorgeous, sparse artwork pretty much sums up the music itself. Desolate guitar lines, lost in landscapes of pulsing rhythms and soothing vocals, painting a full emotional picture with ambience and pretty melodies. Like a futuristic disc of lullabies, This = Everything cradles the listener with its rising waves of technological sounds, but never buries them in the undertow of clicks and beeps. And with ex-members of Hum, Castor, and Compound Red handling the songwriting, you can bet the heart of National Skyline lies in moving vocal melodies. The singing, in the end, is the vehicle in which the listener rides through this vast, futuristic land, admiring the scenery outside the window but never losing sight of what gets him/her through it all. An amazing record that transports you to a world of dream-like warmth, where ghosts of the future serenade you into a blissful trance.
(PO Box 2302 Philadelphia, PA 19103)