COLD NOSE

Italy's Sensations' Fix member Franco Falsino's `Cold Nose', his one solo effort, is a truly sublime instrumental electronic album, despite coming in 1980, therefore after many of the defining works of the genre from the decade before, but certainly no less essential Just as important as his first few Sensations' Fix albums from the early 70's, this one ditches the intimidating spacerock for a more thoughtful, placid and slowly evolving ambient work. A soundtrack to an abandoned movie about cocaine (hence the title), totally devoid of percussive elements, it features just three drawn-out electronic explorations to wrap the listener up in comforting tranquillity. It frequently takes on a softer, joyful sound that lifts to the clouds, with some of the same blissful and low-key drifting electric guitar soloing as found on the Manuel Gottsching/Ashra albums `New Age of Earth' and `Blackouts', and anyone who enjoys those will want to place this one alongside them.

What particularly makes the album so special is that it seamlessly blends a number of styles together to make for a varied and fascinating work. It incorporates more guitars that usual for the electronic/ambient genre, so this helps provide a crossover appeal for listeners who usually wouldn't give the style much time. It's not slow moving or borderline uneventful in the way some people find drone music to be, and every section the compositions move through have a definite purpose. Add in some hypnotic and immersive New Age tastefulness, and everything comes together with restraint, subtlety and endless beauty.

It makes more sense to play the album as a whole, rather than comparing the three self-titled parts individually. But you'll experience drifting tiptoes of mysterious electric piano, rippling shimmering cool synths and delayed distorting gentle electric guitar soloing as you float through the galaxy, with just the barest hint of danger and unease. Time holds no meaning, seconds stretch and blur to minutes, as middle-eastern meditative qualities spill over murmuring bass, chiming guitars and bubbling rippling effects. Buzzing walls of electronic humming and pulsing synths sooth and comfort, almost triumphant tendrils of electronic wisps wrap around sighing wordless harmonies to carry you away to heavens of spiritual escape. This 37 minute trip works even better just from looping it, playing it over and over into infinity.

`Cold Nose' is just as impressive as the defining German electronic masters vintage work, the dreamier flights of early Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream and Steve Hillage's `Rainbow Dome Music'. It also compliments the proper Sensations' Fix albums nicely, providing a pleasing come-down to their more intense space journeys.

A wonderful timeless chillout to drift away to, where being lost has never been so wondrous.

Four stars.