Beneath the Surface
Fans of the celestial sounds ofEnyaand the lush trip-hop beats ofDeleriumandEnigmawill love Balligomingo. Contrary to its Eastern-sounding name, Balligomingo is the baby of one Garrett Schwartz, a keyboardist-programmer who collaborated with a variety of musicians forBeneath The Surface. Though purely a U.S. and Canadian affair, the music does create an ethereal air of mystery and tension not unlike that of Asian underground pioneerNitin Sawhney's recentProphesy(though Balligomingo is far less profound). The buoyant, atmospheric tracks ofSurfaceinclude various female vocalists who extend the songs' allure, a live band treated to sound like sweet computer rhythms, and a 15-piece orchestra. Most of the songs flow together, sustaining the album's dream sequence mood like a long summer rain. Occasionally, the vocals border on teen-pop, but mostly they blend into the foreground, helping to advance Balligomingo's lush world-beat-and-tone poetry muse.--Ken Micallef