Dynasty

Boston's the Grace Period debuted in 2002 with this solid collection of low-key electronic songs. In league with bedroom producers like Land of the Loops, the Grace Period set themselves apart by avoiding esoteric kitsch and concentrating on building an organic instrumental foundation for their tracks. Propelled by the live drumming of bandleader Chris Ott, most of these instrumentals combine his percussion with warm keyboards, assorted samples, and the occasional acoustic flourish. This simple, unassuming technique yields a number of satisfying tracks. "My Girlfriend," built with sampled strings, a loose-limbed trip-hop beat, a keyboard drone, and a lonesome falsetto vocal fragment, is particularly affecting. Another highlight is "Best of Boston," which takes phase-shifted drums and a delicate keyboard line and adds the recorded voice of a random partygoer. Her drunken quips, heard against the music, hint at a sadness that remains a subtle undercurrent throughout the record. Occasionally the dependence on loops for composition grows tiresome, as the tracks vary little once the elements have been introduced in the first few bars. Still, Dynasty is an easy and engaging listen.