Near the Parenthesis' third full-length has dragged me deep into the conundrum of interpretation. You see, much of this review is unavoidably influenced by title conditioning—the infiltration of the subconscious by the record's track names. Prior knowledge of "A Brief Walk in the Sea," for example, gestured towards a rather literal interpretation. Subsequently, the softly repeating chimes which initially drew the ear were like smears of refracted light, highlighting the surface of the waves. As the understated beats emerged from the mix, it felt as though they represented a swell of current, pulling the observer's gaze below the surface; down to a swirling, cycling mass of looping glitches and clicks manifesting as the surrounding water.

As with Mountains or Epic45, whose minimalist-shoegaze approach to ambient electronica shares much in common with Near the Parenthesis, there's refreshingly little to latch on to besides the music itself. No ostentatious frontman, no lyrics, no narrative other than the self-imposed and few other factors to colour the process besides artwork and a tracklist. These, though, are enough to have an influence. And it led me to wonder, rather obsessively as it turns out, what effect a totally "clean" listen would have on an individual.

When hearing the fluctuating, low-pitched tones that open "Cerda's Plan," would they too see an elongating corridor; a nervous, seated man lightly drumming his fingers as the same tones shorten and diverge into insistent patterns; muffled voices from behind a nearby door, crackling and surging into washes of distortion as their discussions reach a volatile stage? As L'Eixample is partially driven and inspired by the architectural history of Barcelona, it should be no surprise that constructed spaces arise in the imagination. But such information also has an effect. It may be Tim Arndt's intention to use "Guell" as an expression of the remarkable hues, textures and curves of Gaudi's famous park through shimmering mosaics of mechanical trills and ever-prominent piano melody. Yet would this connection have been made without guidance? To what extent does it even matter?

Background detail and textual signifiers can bring a deeper, satisfying understanding of creative intent, but at the same time they risk denying the listener the unique, potentially richer, experience of a stimulus-free hearing. To that end, this review itself is a problem. Sorry about that. My suggestion is this: acquire the album, remove it from all the packaging and set it aside. Forget everything you just read. Then listen afresh to an ambient triumph.

Unlike several electronic artists who happen to be blessed with prolificacy, Tim Arndt continually delivers incredibly polished and lush material on his instrumental releases as Near The Parenthesis. The majority of his previous work has been met with extensive critical acclaim and for good reason – it's delicate, instrumental electronica interspersed with an incisive and thought-provoking approach that is as easy to listen to in the background as in the foreground.

L'Eixample is no different to his previous work in this respect. It's self-assured and confident, without being brash. Taking inspiration from his travels through Barcelona and the modernist architecture around the L'Eixample district, the album is distinctly grounded by these experiences but never restrained by them.

Echoes of Seekae are littered throughout, and Ulrich Schnauss also gets a look in with the dreamy atmospherics and shoegaze remnants that make up a fair amount of the album. However, Arndt has a voice all his own as he marries synthetic elements with acoustic instrumentation. He has such a way with melody that the two are never really distinguished as separate entities, which is a stunning achievement.

The emotional connection to the music is undeniable, particularly on tracks such as 'A Brief Walk In The Sea' which relies on a tacit collection of scratchings, squeaks and synths to conjure up the images that the title suggests. The intermittent scuttle of 'Modernisme' lapses into an effortless, languid melody while the divine moments on 'Cerda's Plan' with piano and drum machine matched beat for beat provide lovely jump-out moments that Arndt may explore on future releases. L'Eixample is a release that will slip under the radar for many, but for those in the know it will sure to be one of the highlights of Arndt's back catalogue, and a strong contender for one of the loveliest releases of 2008.

I'm starting to think that every n5MD product should come stamped with a shiny 'Quality Guaranteed' sticker, given how consistently solid its output has been the past year. These two new releases, though radically different in character, certainly maintain the high quality level.

San Francisco-based Tim Arndt made a strong impression with his mid-2006 Near The Parenthesis debut Go Out and See (Music Made By People) and now extends the album's luminescent character to the equally solid Of Soft Construction. The collection's 'emotional electronic' style is quintessential n5MD: deeply-layered material teeming with delicate piano melodies, glistening electronic atmospheres, quietly propellant beats, and occasional voice and radio station samples. Eleven finely-wrought and lustrous transporting lullabies are the result, with nine in the five-minute range and a couple of lovely placid interludes breaking the flow. A veritable wonderland of clicking beats and warm tones resounds amidst ripples of electronic gleam in "Trailing" while "Sitting in a Room" rather anomalously adds bass-heavy funkiness to the sparkling flow. Throughout this sophomore Near The Parenthesis effort, Arndt assembles mobile masses that, interestingly, are simultaneously heavy, in their density, and airy, in their brightness.

In much the same way as Akira Inagawa..s 2005 Lambent project These Days, the debut solo endeavour of San Franciscan musical multi-tasker Tim Arndt, Go Out and See, is one of those records that just work. Arndt..s work under the Near the Parenthesis moniker sees him wind us through an uncomplicated journey of gently ebbing melodic layer-craft and discreet electronic intricacies. Having played guitar and piano in numerous musical denominations, Arndt..s compositional sensibilities really come to the fore here. Indeed, Go Out and See..s strength lays not just in its sonic and textural qualities, but in its arrangements and song structures. These are works that prove equally warm and glacial, immediate and distant .. minimalist in terms of sonic motif, yet full and expansive in terms of compositional forethought and design. Arndt manages to balance filed recordings of city streets and throngs of passing conversation with gentle, eloquent electronic phrasing and fleeting instances of organic instrumentation. Moments of deft, heart-breaking melodic clarity appear as if from behind a cloud, before their gradual, ambient dissolution. The effect is remarkable .. unguardedly emotive, engaging, affecting .. track after track of beauteous sonic cohesion. March>September proves a tear-jerker, while Anon Distant and I Remember it Differently see high-end organic and electronic embellishments dance atop dense synth melodics and restrained beats. Fraun and Must Every Path Cross also prove lovely moments, while Under Lights concludes the record in the strongest possible terms. Go Out and See may not blow your mind, but that..s not its objective. This is the stuff of loneliness and loss and the hope of new realities .. it is the stuff of one of this year..s prettiest and most evocative electronic records.

September 2006

[Near The Parenthesis'] taste for deep, layered musical compositions combined with his musical background make for soundscapes that drift between ethereal and melancholy so skillfully it's impossible to track how this artist moves from one musical point to the next, and such subtlety is likely to make him go far as a producer.

July 2006

Interestingly, Near the Parenthesis (San Francisco-based electronic musician Tim Arndt) creates music that shares many of the same qualities one encounters in Isan. Both acts produce immaculate tracks suffused with analogue warmth, constant rhythmic activity, and gleaming melodies, and the music of both groups tends towards the gentler end of the sonic spectrum. But what's most surprising is how much more Near the Parenthesis's recording impresses when heard alongside Isan's Plans Drawn in Pencil. Why? One simple but key reason: Go Out and See works a deeply emotive dimension into its melodic material that elevates it far above the merely pretty. Arndt assembles his material from by-now familiar elements..field elements of voices and environmental noise, gently chattering beats, billowing electronics, glistening organ tones, subtle layers of glitch..but weaves them into affecting, often tender quasi-ambient compositions drenched with feeling. Cases in point, quietly euphoric pieces like ..The Evasion of Like.. and ..I Remember It Differently.. unfurl with a lush effervescence and melancholic wistfulness that's truly lovely. Only the fourth release issued on the Toronto-based MMBP (Music Made By People) label, Go Out and See impresses as a remarkably accomplished and fully-realized work.

July 2006