4 out of 5

Label: SFI Recordings

Produced by: Phil Petrocelli (mixed and mastered by)

Aggressive ambience. Timothy Fife’s music operates in that special realm that crosses between past and present; found sound and constructed; surreal and narrative. There are touchpoints amongst other slowburn electronica artists, new and old, but Clear Off in particular brings up a couple callouts for me: the distant psychedelia of something like Flying Saucer Attack, and the retro cinematic synths of Repeated Viewing. Which, if you can piece those together, fits into that “special realm,” representative of existing in kind of multiple realities at once; feeling two ways about an experience.

‘Clear Off’ tells that tale directly, with its music touching on faded voices in seas of synths, drone, and then sneakily beat driven electronica, but also the indirectness one might interpret from song titles, and tones of those songs, starting with the thoughtful and contemplative, turning inward; then turning accusatory. It’s a mesmerizing journey, and one that ends up being a lot more driving than the opening spacey pastorals might make it seem, allowing for the fact that these same pastorals are already rather entrancing with their blending of more grounded and ethereal elements. I suppose I was just caught off guard by how the music would evolve over the course of the album.

…Which is why I think the concluding title track feels like a bit of a letdown, even if it’s purposeful: it kind of resummarizes the start of our journey in a more concise fashion; like end credits. That’s fitting, I just wish it felt like a more intrinsic part of the album’s story, …as I perceive it anyway.