In a genre-- ambient-- that tends toward the anonymous, Andrew Thomas is all but invisible. In both name and sound, Thomas, and his second full length, Between Buildings and Trees, seems like the product of a Random Ambient Artist Generator: a name you probably won't remember making music whose details you won't recall. All this despite Thomas gaining a foothold through repeat appearances on Kompakt's closely watched Pop Ambient compilation series. Not listening to-- or more appropriately not really hearing-- Between Buildings would be a mistake, though, as Thomas has collected 40-plus minutes of patient piano melodies and delicate loops.
It's easy to compare ambient music to nature; Thomas' album title certainly isn't shying from this language (his only other full-length is entitled Fearsome Jewel and adorned with a macro photo of grass). Between Buildings, though, conjures something more refined and fragile, like stemware or, well, the type of nice champagne you might drink out of stemware. Unlike on Fearsome Jewel, Thomas never saturates your speakers. Between Buildings seems far more interested in dusting airspaces, sprinkling sound around a room. Some majorly distended tones aside, there's very little bass on Between Buildings, which allows Thomas' wispy pianos to rise in the mix. It's a style that has often seemed too pale on the Pop Ambient comps, but spread over nine tracks it feels light and thoughtful.
Thomas doesn't deal in monolithic movements-- perhaps they would scan as too intimidating, or too sturdy-- and most of the tracks on Between Buildings glide comfortably for four or five minutes. Parsing the individual compositions is a bit silly (it's difficult to imagine a situation in which you'd play just one) but Thomas' best moments usually come on the piano. "Above the World So High" moves from noir-y, stumbling progressions to a quiet, cleansing hum. Opener "A Dream of a Spider" builds a rhythm out of a hesitant, near-lurch. "Net to Catch a Ghost" (clearly there is a Random Ambient Track Titling App as well) is as threadbare and tender as its name suggests. Between Buildings often sounds like an album on which no two sounds ever come into direct contact.
Even casual fans of ambient composition will recognize Between Buildings: It lacks for new methods, singular noises, or moods not relaxed and/or contemplative. Thomas' commitment to space, and the way his pianos and tones brush against it, makes Between Buildings consistently worthwhile. It would be wrong to say that Between Buildings beats this year's Pop Ambient installment, but only because Thomas' light drifts are coolly incapable of any action quite so forceful.
