flawed:LOGIC

To be completely honest, when I was read that the next album in my queue to be reviewed was considered “Trip Hop/Ambient”, I had quite a different picture in my mind. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, remains to be seen, but as a word of warning, this is definitely not something you’d find on the Ninja Tune label. That’s not to say it’s bad, because it’s not, but I guess I just associate trip hop with the likes of Kid Koala and the like, and this is definitely different.

Rather than use more natural sounds like didgeridoos or bongos or flutes, Bonini uses rather synthetic sounding synthesizers, which unfortunately give his tracks an initial air of elevator music rather than interesting downtempo. Yet again, it’s not terrible, and after a few minutes of listening, you can obviously tell a lot more work went into producing these songs than is first noticeable, there are those first few seconds where you have to endure the cheap feeling before you get to the much meatier core.

“Liphop” is the third track on the disc, and brings to mind pictures of someone taking a drive along the coast on a Sunday evening at sunset. Top down, and just relaxing, you can just picture the beaches rushing by you at a decent clip while you just enjoy living. It’s quite relaxing and even poetic at points when punctuated by the short guitar riffs here and there. It just feels right.

I’m not really sure what to say about “Unbroken”. Expecting it to be a bit darker than some of the other tracks, just by looking at its name, I really wasn’t prepared for the near-heavy metal distortion that he uses on the synthesizer at the very opening. At first I was a bit confused, and started to wonder if this track was included mistakenly, but through the song, you can (barely) hear hints of what could have been an ambient song in a previous life time. I was actually disappointed with this song; leaving the distortion and smashing cymbals out of it could have resulted in something amazing, but instead you’re left with something that is a cross between nap time and mosh time. Unfortunate.

Whenever I listen to music, I try to picture what kind of scene in a movie it could potentially be the soundtrack to. “Brand New Day” defies its own title and rather than remind me of waking up in the morning, actually takes me to the feeling I’ve had after a great night of partying. A night where I’ve danced for hours and just had a blast, when it’s time to start the journey home from where ever it is I am, I like to just relax and take stock of my life, and go over the night’s festivities in my head. This would be the perfect song to underscore that “cooling off” with.

When I Grow Up obviously has a lot of promise; Bonini has the talent to make great music that you can completely immerse yourself in. Whether it’s waking up to “Nervious” [sic] or doing yoga to “Dizzy”, it’s quite easy to lose track of the time and just relax, something everyone could do with a little more of. This album isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking for a CD to enjoy while you take a few minutes to yourself, When I Grow Up would be a great choice.

Artist’s Website | Download Album (Free)