Spacecraft Kaleida Dreams

Ok, you're looking at the cover art and title, with the Sherwood Schwartz (Gilligan's Island, Brady Bunch) style font, and you're saying, please tell these guys the seventies are over. But that's sort of the idea here, as 'Kaleida Dreams' is a soundtrack for 1970s kaleidoscopes, in the form of turn-of-the- century computer animation. I can tell I'm missing at least half the story, since I only have the music. The opener, 'Displaced,' is a simple, very rapid sequencer piece. As the beginning to a CD, it isn't a real grabber, but I'll bet there is a rapid, in-your-face barrage of computer animation to really kick of the visuals, and that this music would fit perfectly.

Fortunately, most of the music does just fine as a standalone. 'Full Moon Flowers' is a nice drifter, with soft piano, light wind chimes, and atmospheric synths. In fact, though it's very mellow, I think this would have made a better starting track, as it's a really strong one. Also very good is 'Sense of Wonder,' a bubbly sequencer piece with some cool, Ashra-like guitars. This track builds especially well. 'Echoes' has a bright, sparkling quality to it, even as it lazily meanders along with light, floating electronics and more guitars. I've always felt that Tony Gerber's guitar playing is a real asset of Spacecraft, and that is evident here. This reminds me of 'The Summon' from their excellent 'Hummel' release. Several short slices of really good sequencing and atmospherics can be found throughout.