Craig Armstrong As If To Nothing label: astralwerks released: 04.16.02 our score: 3.5 out of 5.0 buy it: here

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It's already a landmark year for renowned Scottish composer Craig Armstrong. His highly praised work on the tremendous film Moulin Rouge has seen him handed a Golden Globe award and named the composer of the year by the American Film Institute. But, hey, it's only spring and there is plenty of the year left for Armstrong to become even more well-known and build far firmer foundations for the rest of his career.

The world, it would seem, is at his feet. And so too his new solo project, As If To Nothing, which holds fifteen inventive new compositions that are as diverse as anything you'll find on a CD right now. Collaborating with Armstrong on this ambitious project is the impressive line-up of Bono, Evan Dando and Mogwai, helping to give this non-soundtrack a very real cinematic feel.

The strongest parts of As If To Nothing come when Armstrong emerges as a confident creator of pop music, and nowhere is this more in evidence than in the opening "Ruthless Gravity" and later in "Inhaler," with both tracks capturing the better moods of Depeche Mode.

But be under no impression that this is a dance album, because there are also Indian influences on "Miracle" and "Amber," while ethereal sounds emanate from "Hymn 2."

This is a diverse release for those who really appreciate people who make music mean something. The main pop-culture interest comes when Bono sings to Armstrong's version of the old U2 song "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)."

Armstrong, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and used to work with Texas, has crafted a fine collection of tracks here, all coming complete with their own depth, animation and feeling.
15-Apr-2002 12:55 PM

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