Perhaps it is Meriel Barham’s involvement with one of my favorite bands of all time (here on eMusic), but discovering and reading that she released a solo record and subsequent collaboration album under the name “Kuchen” was a welcome surprise. When my monthly downloads refreshed today it was an instant download. Quite a surprise to hear “Kids With Sticks” contains no vocals (since Meriel was the vocalist of P.S. at one point..) and is a sublime minimally textured IDM record.

Reading subsequent reviews suggest that the songs “walk up softly until they stand right in front of us with all the courage they could muster…“. It’s the feeling that each of the seven songs have a secret deep below and that every moment and sound is a movement of unfolding what is underneath.

Highly recommended for headphone and night-time listening.