Go with Belmondo
vinegarmoon | NYC, NY, United States | 10/14/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Japancakes stumbles on this album. It's just...blah...and this is a band that's made an art out of making blah both endearing and heartbreaking. Waking Hours certainly works as background sounds but at their best--on "...Dallas" and "Belmondo" and "Sleepy Strange"...they managed, almost subconsciously, to pull you out of your work and yourself and force you to listen to their most "intense" moments.
I agree with the previous reviewer: track 4 is their best offering on this album, and tracks 1 and 2 rhyme with some of their best work from previous albums. But, really, Waking Hours doesn't have the same kind of sincerity of their previous albums.
(P.S. Avoid "Down the Elements" at all costs.)"
Soundtrack to a sunrise
J. Holmes | yokohama, japan | 10/25/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"an album of gentle flowing instrumentals that are as pleasant as a warm breeze on a spring day. there are elements of Nashville country music within these compositions, but everything is sprinkled with a hazy, dreamy aura that adds a special ethereal kind of touch. imagine a band like Tristeza playing country music for the new age Narada record label and you're getting close to imagine how this sounds like. most of these songs are based around simple piano lines that seem to stretch out in the distance, gently floating along with it's melody as various other instruments slowly join in...steel guitar, drums, strings, vibes. until each song melds into one organic drift that lifts the listener into it's sleepy little world. it's all very haunting and lazy feeling. a record that especially sounds good in those late nights and early morning hours...hence the title, maybe? hmmm...very very lovely and soothing."
Yawn (in a good way)
Elliott Brown | San Francisco | 09/20/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Mellow, slow, and happy, this album exhibits about the same range of emotion as a patient walking out of a methadone clinic. Many of the songs have ambient acoustic larval periods before building into lovely butterflies with actual beats and repetitive (though gradually evolving) melodies. With lap steel, fiddle, and piano making prominent contributions, there's definitely a bit of country to these dreamy all-instrumental tracks, but the songs occassionaly soar into the midtempo, particularly on the eight-minute final track that recalls Stereolab with its droning guitars.
The easiest comparisons are to soft, subtle bands like The Sea and Cake and maybe Yo La Tengo's more recent stuff. This album will sound great to fans of either of the aforementioned, American Analog Set, or N. Lannon, but be forewarned that these sparse songs are much better as background music than as a raging soundtrack to your life. This is a great pick if you like to do things like imagine yourself having a pleasant experience at the dentist's office. Try track four for the best the album has to offer."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1