This disc, the fifth yearly release from the
American Composers Forum
's often excellent
Sonic Circuits
series, collects pieces of
electronic
music by composers from the worlds of
avant-garde
and academic music. Casual listeners might want to start with the most current
album rather than this one, because some of the works here, like
Mike Olson
's unfortunate planetarium-rocker
"Office Furniture From Outer Space,"
haven't aged well. Still, there are some lovely pieces here, like
Eirik Lie
's heavy-hearted
ambient
work
"112 Par Sko"
and
Colby Leider
's pulsing,
Reich-ian
"Veni Creator Spiritus."
While
Sonic Circuits, Vol. 5
will probably appeal to hardcore fans of
electro-acoustic
music, the uninitiated should avoid this album until they've digested a few more recent volumes in the
series. ~ Charlie Wilmoth