Matt Borghi: December Impressions Matt Borghi: December Impressions (Matt Borghi - 2001) Somber-but-sweet tonal washes are smeared across the vast, cold soundscenery of December Impressions. With one near-silent exception, Matt Borghi's "sequences" hover in a surreal state of shapeless beauty against slate-colored skies. We first encountered Matt's sounds in the June 2000 Overviews, and I must say I like the directions in which they've headed since then. A ringing void is threaded with billowing low tones amongst lighter shimmers in the ethereal murk of Sequence I. Practically inaudible Sequence II (3:02) provides a few quiet moments for uninterrupted contemplation before the shadowy swirls of Sequence III flow in all their enigmatic glory. Like metallic wisps slowly writhing above some unknown gorge of bubbling depths Sequence V carries the sequential soundscapes into Sequence VI, further exploring the oddly comforting spookiness. Deep swells are criss-crossed by glaring striations as Sequence VIII (4:48) examines these scenes from yet another only-slightly-different angle. Somehow eerier (though never really evil) Sequence XI radiates with the final spectral moments. The tracks vary little, but that's cool... it's as if Matt Borghi has taken a series of intriguing photographs documenting the same washed-out winter terrain from several vantage points; the cumulative effect adds up to a cohesive whole... and even if the whole is an ambiguous sonic slur, it's a most entrancing slur! The chilly expanse of December Impressions gets a warmly glowing 9.1. Now go to www.mp3.com/mattborghi... This review posted June 30, 2001 AmbiEntrance © 2001-1997 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).