POGLEDOT NA SZERCATLEYA (Погледът на съзерцателя)

In many important ways this is more of an electronic ambient album than anything, even if Ivanov's influences lean decidedly on the neo/crossover axes, and vocals have greater prominence than in typical electronica. But it's also barely rock music, with most tracks lacking muscularity that would enhance their character and connect emotionally with the listener. This unfortunate tendency is sadly more pronounced in the longest cuts that scream loudest for diversification beyond a few curious piano rolls.

Luckily, at its worst "Eye of the Beholder" is at least soothing a la DAVID SYLVIAN (but not as captivating), and at its best Ivanov cooks up some intriguiing song structures and eerie hypnotic melodies mostly carried on what sounds like guitar samples, particularly in the first 2 tracks; track 6 with its deliciously ominous leads seemingly patterned after Robert Fripp or, more recenty nigh locally, Mirek Gil; and the closing cut.

Musical beauty is also in the eye of the beholder, and while this quality is amply demonstrated on the latest Ivanov effort, a little more grit might have gone a long way towards driving that beauty beyond the first few epithelial layers.