Brookville - Wonderfully Nothing

This is a solo album from musician and producer Andy Chase, of Ivy fame, and features plenty of guest musicians including James Iha, They Might Be Giants bassist Danny Wienkauf, and Eric Matthews. Andy Chase has been a successful producer (French pop group Tahiti 80, a few older Fountains of Wayne songs, and several Hollywood soundtracks), and his knowledge really pulls the simple lyrics (“I like the way you are, So shine like a shooting star”) and laid-back instrumentation of Wonderfully Nothing together into a very worthwhile listen. That being said, this album is a beautifully assembled set of production-heavy songs filled with drum machines, electronics, and sparsely placed samples. It’s sweet and soothing, sonically enjoyable from start to end. It has an indie-euro-romantic sound to it, clean and summery. Now and then there’s an out of place dance-synth, and some songs are a tad over-produced, but overall it’s very satisfying. My only real concern is that ten of the thirteen tracks end by fading out; fade-outs are a terribly 80's gimmick that bothers me to no end. I’m a stickler for production, and despite the previous sentence, this is some of the best work I’ve heard all year. The vocals match perfectly to the warm, swelling rhythms. “It’s just a sweet sensation coming over me.” [www.brookville.com]