A lot of people make music that could be categorized as “psychedelic” or “otherworldly”, but it is extremely rare for someone to be so strikingly adept at it that it is difficult to believe that it was actually created by a person. Frank Baugh, however, is exactly that good. Not all the time, of course, but when he gets it just right, the results are breathtakingly warm, organic, and beautiful in a way that is not generally found outside of dreams.

Baugh painstakingly constructs intricate, yet seamless, sound collages with an eclectic palette of non-music sources suffused with bittersweet nostalgia and emotional resonance (both his and that of others): old home movies, tapes, microcassette recordings, samples, etc. Frank also plays some instruments as well (chord organ, guitar, mandolin), but skillfully uses them in a way that does not intrude or break the quivering, blissful spell woven by the static, decayed voices, moans, hisses, and hypnotically repeating loops.

Of the five songs included on the album, two (“Parts” and “Bed”) achieve immersive, haunting, heartbreaking perfection. The rest of album is often quite enjoyable (particularly “Vapor”), but for various reasons cannot keep the fragile web of illusion from coming apart to reveal that it all originates from a guy playing some instruments in his bedroom in Tennessee. But I suppose that’s to be expected, as Frank is only human (probably). This is sublime, visionary work. 9/10 -- Anthony D'Amico (7 October, 2009)