Love in the Time of Anticipated Defeat is the dolorous title of a set of instrumentals meant to soundtrack a rooftop refuge on a sweet city night spent staring at the skyscrapers and stars and enjoying the breeze. It sounds however very much like a paean to the classic ambient albums of Brian Eno, opening like something he might have done with Harold Budd, reminiscent of work with Robert Fripp here, solo efforts elsewhere. I´m almost sure a few notes on the opening track would correspond exactly with a particular Eno/Budd template.
In fact, I can see shadows of many of my favourite ambient pieces flitting like waxwings across the album, and yet wouldn´t dream of calling it derivative. It´s beautifully constructed and has more than enough personality to stand on its own.
Jonathan D. Haskell lives and works in Los Angeles and while his track titles often have the pizzazz of melodramatic box-office boffo – ´If Looks Could Kill´, ´Hope in Hopeless Places´, ´Suicide Leap from the Hollywood Sign´ – his music has a much sunnier, if laidback, storyline. The guitar at the centre of Haskell´s music may sometimes flash a hard edge but it poses no immediate danger and melts into a fuzzy haze.
Almost like a cover album of the best of the unadulterated and unashamed ambient spirit.
Stephen Fruitman
