City Centre Offices

On their debut album, John Tejada and Takeshi Nishimoto displayed a
clever grasp of electronic-tinged instrumental music, virtuoso-style,
with tasty guitar and bass flourishes layered over real drums and
whatever the laptop pushed out as the master controlled it. They've
continued their regular regimen of playing and recording together on
Wednesdays, no matter what their schedules had in store, and the fruits
of that labor, their second record, receives its title from the very
process that produced it. With these songs, it seems the
laptop-produced elements have become more of a basis for the songs,
rather than skeletal remains that were thrown in for flavor. The
opening track, "Walk Through Walls," starts with a manipulated and
glitched sample that provides a basic beat, then "real" instruments
take it over, guitar/bass/drums in full lock-on mode with gorgeous
solo-like flourishes. Every once in a while that sample or another
returns, just as a reminder that it was the catalyst, but it's mostly
business as usual. The two pile on the processed guitars, various
guitar tracks, and the slapped bass, add some delay and echo effects,
and stride comfortably towards the finish line, knowing full well
they're ahead. "Every Moment is Ours" begins much in the same regard,
with computer magic and deep bass followed by gentle guitar, then
hypnotizing bass chords and that familiar guitar tone join the fun.
Halfway through, live drums kick in briefly, only to relent to their
more processed brethren. Ultimately, the process is slightly different
on this record, but the music is very much the same, which is to say
clearly produced and recorded and excellently played. The songwriting
is a bit limited to the aforementioned format, however, and though the
chill-out lounge style form bursts into jazz-like improvisations, the
basic structure is very much consistent with most songs, as is the tone
and presentation. That's the only complaint, however, and it's not much
of one, as the songs are still pleasant enough to listen to. It would
just help to hear a bit more variety in this art, and not have to wait
until the next day in the week to get it.
samples: