Instrumentalmusik: Instrumental Music...to Submerge in...and Disappear Through

In contrast to the Stooges-influenced skronk that Swedish guitarist Olsson created with Union Carbide Productions or the psychedelic pop-influenced turn he took with Soundtrack of Our Lives, this opaque instrumental album drifts past late-'60s Pink Floyd and early Krautrock to arrive at the trippier side of ambient without the emphasis on electronic instrumentation. Recorded both indoors and outdoors at a friend's home in Sweden's west coast archipelago, Instrumental Music's hypnotic, analog organ-drenched soundscapes are reminiscent of Bo Hansson, Popul Vuh, Scandanavian folk music, Ennio Morricone's scores for spaghetti westerns (e.g., the misleadingly titled "A Moment of Reflection," the drumming on "Lullaby for Escapists," the whistling on "1996"), and the chiming sound in your head after a particularly loud concert. Overall it's quite lovely and should appeal to those seeking ethereal pleasure without the extreme abstractions of some "space music" or the blandness that is sometimes associated with "new age."