Industrial Cyclops – The Smallest Particle

You’re in for a throttle and a half with this offering from Eric Sommer and his side project The Smallest Particle.

Guitar players of this caliber tend to get a little lazy and distracted after four or five successful records: the ideas get a little worn, the execution frayed around the edges and after an exhaustive touring schedule finding creative innovation can be harder than sucking a golf ball thru a garden hose at Stacy’s Mom’s house; that ain’t the case here. Which is why this little gem is so refreshing; it puts a new spin on things and breaks all the rules when it comes to guitar playing and solo singer/songwriter types.

So throw off the horse blinders and prepare for a short but intense audio sampling of cross-pollinative innovation with guitars and tabletop – it’s Gasoline meets Kraftwerk meets… a player to be named later! This is top notch innovative stuff, dramatically different from any previous Eric Sommer sonic offering and The Smallest Particle throws the typical “singer/songwriter” tag out the window, down the fire-escape, onto the Port Authority bus to Florida, and kicks it back to the surface with a run on sentence.

With loops, midi and keyboards plus careful use of the tech tools at hand, and enough discipline to not get overwhelmed at the possibilities, this three composition presentation shows what is possible when an artist eschews safety and conformity to dance on the high-wire without a net.

Bravo! Bravo!

Engineer: Dave Robinson
Label/Distribution: Clyde is Thinking
All songs by Eric Sommer/Dave Robinson
SESAC Nashville / Publisher
Location: Reston, Virginia

Eric Sommer: guitars, lead vocals
Dave Robinson: Midi, Processor