Though certainly not as graceful and cohesive as "Far Away Trains Passing By" there is a brooding magnificence and a spirit to explore new avenues here. Whereas the first album was essentially variations on a similar theme and mood, albeit achingly lovely ones, this record shows him flexing his muscles a bit more and incorporating new ideas. More power to him i say. It falters only slightly here and there but largely the results are stunning; "a letter from home" is just about perfect and "blumenthal" is as lovely as anything on the first record. He is one of the very brightest objects in the sky at the moment, waiting only for the clouds to clear just a bit more.

Modern ambient masterpiece more in the vein of Brian Eno and Harold Budd than his prodigious work with Cocteau Twins. Singularly lovely and spare but with a depth and resonance most other artists can only hint at, this is considerably more interesting than his recent pop stylings in Violet Indiana, primarily because his guitar work needs no vocal accompaniment,
unless of course it is Elizabeth Fraser doing the singing.
How can you possibly top that? If they must be apart then by all means give us more of this, Mr. Guthrie.