Tim Bowness/Peter Chilvers

This is a haunting and delicate album that features the work of No-Man's Tim Bowness and Alias Grace's Peter Chilvers. Bowness has collaborated with a wide array of artists, including electronic acts like Scanner, or prog-rock royalty like Robert Fripp and King Crimson's Pat Mastelotto. It should be no surprise that he has also worked with ex-members of Japan, since this album bears a disturbingly close resemblance to the solo work of David Sylvian - his voice has the same soft tones and the music is equally obtuse and down-tempo. Somewhat accurately called "torch-song electronica," this is a soothing and melancholic album to really sink into. Soft electronic tones blend with sounds of rain, the piano and other effects, but it is Bowness' voice that takes centre stage. The album as a whole is captivating, although the songs do tend to disappear into each other somewhat blandly. Still, there is a nice rainy morning feel to California, Norfolk, and his voice is nice to listen to, even if it is hard to ignore the presence of the ghost of Mr. Sylvian.