SCHOOLYARD GHOSTS

I haven't known before this duo featuring the PORCUPINE TREE frontman Steven Wilson and singer Tim Bowness, nor have I really listened to their other projects. So I probably was freer from expectations than the previous reviewers, many of whom clearly were somehow disappointed, while several others rave about this album. I'm somewhere in between. This is peaceful, nearly-narcotic, ambient-ish rock nothing to rave about, but who says it should be raved about? I was gladly surprised about the beauty of this music. I would compare it to DAVID SYLVIAN in its elegant melancholia, only perhaps slightly more unmemorable in compositions, and of course Bowness, a very nice voice himself, can't beat Sylvian's vocals.

I had a copy including a bonus DVD. For most part it's a so called audio-DVD playing the same music accompanied with a still photograph, but it also features three videos. 'All Sweet Things' and an abbreviation of 'Truenorth' are black-and-white arthouse videos with a pleasant slow pace, showing the playing and nightly views of the streets etc. What I instantly was charmed by was the colour video of 'Wherever There Is Light'. It shows only nature (trees, plants, sky) in a wonderful hazy sunlight and sunset. It is really far from a typical pop music video, and for that very reason it is one of the loveliest I've ever seen. The album is enjoyable (well, 'Pigeon Drummer' has more experimental playing which I'm not fond of) but perhaps a bit too monotonous for the 53 minutes. I like it enough for 3½ stars.