Personnel: TG Mauss (synthesizer); Thomas Klein.The debut release by longtime Kreidler drummer Thomas Klein, Solyst is, in the song titles at least, a tribute to the ocean. "The Isle," "The Swell," "A Sward of Nereids," "Malstrom" -- it's perhaps appropriate that many hints of late-'70s science documentary soundtracks can be heard throughout, since this could have been wonderfully paired with a lot of deep sea footage. With the assistance of TG Mauss on synthesizers, which accentuate many of the pieces throughout, Klein's work clearly draws on any number of strains in experimental percussion -- if not in complete free-form fashion, then in an exploratory vein that emphasizes constant forward motion and complex arrangements. The general atmosphere is set by "The Swell," with its looming space rock/dancefloor feeling slowly morphing into a percussion-centered flow swathed in huge echo, with many of the songs following in general similar veins. Not entirely, though, and such variety proves to be of importance, with the lighter drive of "Optimyst" and the throbbing "Kelpie" -- the latter feeling more mid-'90s than late '70s in its blend of sonics and space -- contrasting with the deep drones, on both keyboards and guitar, on songs like "Hoorn of Plenty." Throughout, Klein's drumming sets and varies the tone, with the penultimate "Cape Fear" perhaps being the strongest number, tense in feeling with haunted-sounding background tones adding to the emotion indicated in the film-referencing title. ~ Ned Raggett
