Stellar Lovers (Volumes. 1 & 2) -
TELEGRAPH (Starfish L.E.)

Break Fix Anniversary -
DARREN CALLAHAN (Brazildisc)

This group of recent releases from musician/author Darren Callahan offers a portrait of both his past and present. "Break Fix Anniversary" is a surprisingly cohesive anthology spanning the years 1993-2001. Surprising because it draws material from a wide variety of different projects, both solo and with various bands, but all of the music on it bears the mark of a focused musician with an identifiable style that emerges from whatever form the music takes. Particularly welcome are the tracks from a band called OO OO WA, an early 90's pop band that, I'm convinced, only missed striking the motherlode because their timing was off. It certainly wasn't because they weren't good enough. The Anthology provides a nice introduction to the two-volume "Stellar Lovers" which sounds like a film score to a movie yet to be made. The music has a cinematic quality to it that seems to suggest a variety of scenes, and locations - maybe from your own past, or from one you've only begun to imagine. In any case, all of this music shares a melodic sensibility that sets it apart from much of what's on the market these days. And that's something to be savored.