Sep29

T.H. White – Company Book (Review)

T.H. White

Company Book



When each track on an album is good, you know you have a problem: where do you begin to write a solid review? On T.H. White’s third album,Company Book, you can hit shuffle and find a delight with each twist of the producer’s knob and the plunk of the programmer’s key.

Maybe that’s because White was the primary arranger, producer, programmer, and musician (guitar, bass) on the album and he owns the label. An eclectic album, Company Book coalesces well into one razmataz of synths and percussion. To do right by URB readers, let’s begin with ‘Indigo Evening,’ which is a lush ambient soundscape layering and layering until it reaches a delicate keyboard-laden fade-out.

‘Five Hands On’ features dark metallic sounds over what sounds like a trippy electronic organ. With a strong urban vibe is ‘Rekognize Real,’ and it’s reminiscent of The Crystal Method, whose work White has remixed. ‘Whitesky Lights’ almost stutters as it begins, but it unfolds into a spiraling track of slinky beats. Label mate Megan Wolf guests on ‘The Darkest Horse,’ and delivers some haunting vocals’but it comes across as funky, instead of trying too hard.

That sums up Company Book: funky without trying too hard. White prides himself on his uber-slick production skills, which he certainly flexes over the course of the album. From tracks like ‘Earth is On Fire’ to ‘Fantasy Pictures,’ there’s substance beneath his production effects, and Company Book makes for a mesmerizing listen.

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