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Reviews

Robby Aceto — Code
(Alchemy Records (US) ALCD1006, 1996, CD)

by Jeff Melton, Published 1998-07-01

Code Cover art

If you’ve been waiting with baited breath for the new David Sylvian, you’re probably close to asphyxiation by now. But in the interim there is a disc which may alleviate your hunger pangs. Code is the name of the album from Robby Aceto (former Sylvian sideman as well as other former collaborator with Japan members Karn / Jansen / Barbieri). Together with ambient guru guitarist David Torn, Aceto has built a moody house of audio playfulness. Is there anything that Torn hasn’t done recently which hasn’t been a superb  work? Not to my knowledge! His production work is keen enough to balance lead vocals with a complex set of backing tracks giving us a near perfect audio experience. A ‘guilty success by association’ so to speak has paid off for Aceto since they have crafted an album’s worth of material on par with his mentors and associates. Vocally, he reminds me of a restrained Bruce Cockburn without the politics or even Kevin Gilbert (Giraffe) on the piece, "Into Indigo." The compositional ideas aren’t particularly new but the  approach has been refined through some cooperative interaction between composer and producer. A great representative track is "Trust," which begins with a solo piano intro that segues into a modern danceable track with Torn’s restrained leads atop a billowing techno vibe. Vocalist Happy Rhodes makes a memorable guest appearance on the oddly titled "Shane Heads for the Immaculate Mountains." This disc fits nicely into the sub-genre mined by Porcupine Tree in the UK and belongs in your collection with other fine ambient vocal works.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 15, 1996 releases

Related artist(s): David Torn, Steve Jansen, Happy Rhodes, Robby Aceto

 

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