Review from Benzine Mag

The Balustrade Ensemble - Capsules (Review translated by Sébastien Radiguet, corrected by Johan)
Previously released on the american Dynamophone imprint, the magical Capsules are given a second edition in Europe thanks to the swedish label Ominous Recordings, with artwork, tracklist, lenght and mixing slightly modified. A real blow to the heart, and one of the best discoveries from the MySpace community, The Balustrade Ensemble is the solo project of guitar player Grant Miller, backed up by the brilliant sound designer Scott Solter and a number of instrumentalists (cello, piano, pedal steel, and vintage keyboards like mellotron, orchestron, claviola and celesta which contribute towards the fairytale-ish atmosphere). Capsules seems similar to imaginary and enchanted bubbles, quietly melancholic... No need to say it’s hard to define the outlines of this anachronistic music mingling with disconcerting easiness, an old movies atmosphere with high-wire artist’s digital manipulations. Getting lost in ambient territories with drifting strings, layers, heavenly choirs and concrete noises (Synnove skeie, A long fetch over), Capsules displays melodious treasures, with guitar loops that could easily arouse covetousness from Epic45 guys. With Pedal steel’s echoes that remind us of the contemplative Belladonna from Daniel Lanois, angelic voices perched on the same clouds than those of Music for the moviebikers by Kaada (the mysterious Tangle in delirium). Here are a few points of reference that don’t have to conceal the magic locked in these capsules, synonymous with benefactor and fairytale.

Sébastien Radiguet
Benzinemag (4.5 out of 5)
Ondefixe (9 out of 10)