Love Your Mother

A gentle ebb and flow characterizes Jeremy Ballard's second album, following his accomplished Language Game debut for the Cologne-based Tomlab with a follow-up effort for a label located a little closer to his Texas home, Portland's unassuming but ever enjoyable Audio Dregs imprint. The title track, which closes the album, defines the simplicity adhered to by the ten pieces of music that precede it — where an acoustic guitar emerges tentatively from bedraggled electronic elements. Although melancholic, this scholastic fusion of organic found sounds with analog mechanicals shines with a glimmer of hope, with the crystalline melodic structures that reign throughout the running order so delicate there is a constant fear that cranking up the stereo will result in slivers of shattered disc clogging up the CD drawer.