In Print  Home  Directories  Reviews  Get In Touch  Forums  Links  Gig Guide  

Louis Bernstone: Everything Unwinds

You may not have heard of Louis Bernstone, but he's been making music since he bought his first Roland synth as a teenager. He studied classical composition at Wellington's Victoria University for three years - gigging in a synthesiser duo during that time with Chris Balm under the name Sara. Music was then forgotten in favour of a career in financial services in the UK. Now he's based in his own studio in Surrey which explains why this CD sounds so goddamned English. 'Everything Unwinds' is a nice surprise, carrying hints of bands such as the Blue Nile (actually from Scotland), Talk Talk, The Beloved and Pet Shop Boys. Overall it's a pleasant, gentle, atmospheric, English 'indie' style album. There's soft epic guitar, sweeping synth pads, piano melodies, delicate vocals, the odd world music sample - and several instrumentals. If anything that's where it falls down. A couple more songs instead of the wordless compositions would have made a better impact. Some of the synthetic elements are a little clunky and obvious, but this album nonetheless deserves a listen. Available from CD Baby or www.louisbernstone.com.

Related Information