Cul de Sac has been described as "post-rock," a vague category for bands typically uncategorizable. Cul de Sac weaves instrumental trances around guitarist Glenn Jones' finger picked stylings that recall surf, Middle Eastern, or folk music. He also plays "the contraption," a Hawaiian lap-steel-guitar laden with effects pedals and played with kitchen utensils. Synthesist Robin Amos produces distinctive sounds by playing instruments he created himself; his electronic sounds are musical, not a distracting novelty as can sometimes happen in similar situations. Bassist Michael Bloom and drummer Jon Proudman provide a rock-solid yet melodic anchor for the band. All four are virtuoso yet sympathetic musicians -- none of them hog the spotlight. Crashes to Light Minutes to Its Fall, the band's fifth album, finds Cul de Sac at its most confident and lyrical. The music is complex and cerebral, yet playful and accessible. This is mind-expanding music of the friendliest sort. Its potential appeal ranges from fans of Pink Floyd or German rock bands of the '70s like Can or Ash Ra Tempel, to surf-rock mavens, or people who say they like the concept of new age music but find the execution dull. "Etaoin Shrdlu," the opening track, ushers in the album gently with percolating electronics and Greek-style fingerpicked electric guitar. Within a few minutes, the listener is catapulted into the stratosphere with a contraption and electronics duet. From there, the journey is by turns down to earth, as on "A Voice Through a Cloud," and otherworldly, such as "Into the Cone of Cold." "On the Roof of the World" gently touches down with a guitar figure that is alternatively Japanese and Appalachian sounding. Cul de Sac's music is not, as the band name suggests, a street closed at one end; rather, it is a road leading to endless possibilities. (from All Music Guide)
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