Mike Oldfield and Tangerine Dream have hugely influenced British musician Marc Carlton. Therefore it is no surprise that the music on Reflex Arc is, well.., a mixture of Mike Oldfield and Tangerine Dream, the ambient version, that is. Reflex Arc is a continuous suite containing sixteen pieces. The music is flowing quietly like a gentle stream in the British countryside on a lazy afternoon, without a gust of wind, let alone thunder and lightning. That is exactly the problem with this album: it is all too neat, too level-headed. Not one little note is out of place, it is neither fish nor flesh. Reflex Arc is not boring, but it is also not not boring, if you know what I mean. The CD inlay says to listen to this album ‘in the providence of aural sanctity, less the circle will be broken'. Well, I wish Marc Carlton had broken the circle more often, or at least every now and then. ** André de Waal (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
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