CALIFONE: CALIFONE

If you're a Red Red Meat fan, you probably already know about this record. Tim Rutilli, the songwriter behind Califone proceeds from where his previous outfit (Red Red Meat) left off. It continues along the path of layering keyboards, organs, programing, miscellaneous percussion, and whatever else is at the disposal of the recording sessions. With all the tiers of sounds, it thankfully never sounds overdone. Their restraint provides a nice balance of songwriting and sound sculpture. It was recorded in various locations separately by Brian Deck, Tim Hurley, and Warren Defever who all do a fine job at overlaying lots of sounds without making the recordings sound too muddy. (Flydaddy, PO Box 4618, Seattle, WA 98104)