Meditations

When a band member does something on his or her own, some people expect the solo output to resemble the band's work. But C. Lanzbom's third solo album, Meditations, is hardly a carbon copy of his work with the band Soulfarm, for which he has played guitar since 1991. While Soulfarm (formerly Inasense) has embraced country-tinged pop/rock, Meditations favors more of a folk-pop approach. Soulfarm's music is laid-back, inspiring comparisons to California bands ranging from the Eagles to the Grateful Dead and Kingfish. But Meditations is more than laid-back — this acoustic-oriented CD is placid and downright tranquil. Because Meditations is as peaceful as it is, some people will categorize Lanzbom's instrumental music (some of which has Middle Eastern and world music influences) as new age — and, to be sure, new age audiences will probably appreciate the tranquillity of "We Can Begin," "Palma," and other introspective tracks. But Lanzbom the solo artist is really coming from the perspective of a folk-pop instrumentalist, not the perspective of a new age artist. However you categorize Meditations, this is creative, substantial music that has a lot of charm.