In much the same way as Akira Inagawa’ 2005 Lambent project These Days, the debut solo endeavour of San Franciscan musical multi-tasker Tim Arndt, Go Out and See, is one of those records that just work. Arndt’s work under the Near the Parenthesis moniker sees him wind us through an uncomplicated journey of gently ebbing melodic layer-craft and discreet electronic intricacies. Having played guitar and piano in numerous musical denominations, Arndt’s compositional sensibilities really come to the fore here. Indeed, Go Out and See‘ strength lays not just in its sonic and textural qualities, but in its arrangements and song structures. These are works that prove equally warm and glacial, immediate and distant – minimalist in terms of sonic motif, yet full and expansive in terms of compositional forethought and design. Arndt manages to balance filed recordings of city streets and throngs of passing conversation with gentle, eloquent electronic phrasing and fleeting instances of organic instrumentation. Moments of deft, heart-breaking melodic clarity appear as if from behind a cloud, before their gradual, ambient dissolution. The effect is remarkable – unguardedly emotive, engaging, affecting – track after track of beauteous sonic cohesion. March>September proves a tear-jerker, while Anon Distant and I Remember it Differently see high-end organic and electronic embellishments dance atop dense synth melodics and restrained beats. Fraun and Must Every Path Cross also prove lovely moments, while Under Lights concludes the record in the strongest possible terms. Go Out and See may not blow your mind, but that’s not its objective. This is the stuff of loneliness and loss and the hope of new realities – it is the stuff of one of this year’ prettiest and most evocative electronic records.
Dan Rule
