Faultline

2.5 stars out of 5

Your Love Means Everything is a little album with a big reputation to live up to. The sophomore effort from Faultline, a.k.a. British knob twiddler David Kosten, was originally released in 2002 and sank without a trace. It's now been picked up by a new U.S. label, Capitol Records, and is being reissued as a "lost classic," unjustly overlooked because two of its key guest performers, Coldplay's Chris Martin and Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips, didn't get big until just after the album's initial Stateside release. In other words, Capitol is hoping that hordes of listeners will rush out and buy this album now that they've heard "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" and "Clocks."

Not likely. While Kosten's spare, brittle compositions are often quite beautiful, they're hardly mainstream fare, and the familiar voices of Martin, Coyne and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe (who, last we checked, was popular even back in 2002) bring little of their star quality into the equation. That's to everyone's credit; "Where is My Boy?" is a far cry from Coldplay's anthemic rock, and a "Shiny Happy" Stipe would have derailed the delicate charms of the stately "Greenfields." But nothing here is destined for Top of the Pops.

Other guest vocalists fare less well: Joseph Arthur weighs in with a polished but pointless cover of "Wild Horses," and Vordul Megilah's rap on "We Came From Lego Blocks" is as random as the title would suggest. Only Ras B's ragga-styled vocals on "Biting Tongues" mesh well with Kosten's spooky, atmospheric arrangements. The rest of the album is given over to glitchy, melancholy instrumentals, of which only the title track (also served up in an equally haunting version with Chris Martin's vocal) leaves a lasting impression. A lost classic? Hardly. Worth a second look? For fans of IDM and minimalist electronica, sure. - Andy Hermann

Prolific producer David Kosten's second solo album positions Faultline as another in a line of electronic musicians who excel in blending moody tones with guest vocals. The list of collaborators on Your Love Means Everything is quite impressive. Guests include Michael Stipe, Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips, Chris Martin from Coldplay, newcomer Jacob Golden, and ex-Verve guitarist Nick McCabe. It's the songs that enlist the help of Kosten's famous admirers that really sparkle and take off. Chris Martin's pensive vocal delivery on "Where Is My Boy" and the title track suggest a more subtle, introspective take on Coldplay. The sweeping, glitchy "Bitter Kiss" works like an electro-Western ballad, thanks to Jacob Golden's touching Thom Yorke-like falsetto. Wayne Coyne's fractured, brittle lullaby might not reach the peaks of Sparklehorse, but the song works slight magic as a creepy, sad passion play. Michael Stipe appears to be having fun on "Greenfields"; his haunted voice makes for a mystical, almost Christmassy mood. The only problem, and it's a minor one, with the album's many instrumental songs is that they seem somewhat emotionally vacant. It's as if the songs are crying out to be used as film score material. That's not to say that Kosten isn't a fine sonic sculptor, because he wields electronics and traditional instruments like an ace, but there is a sense that something is missing. Songs like "Clocks" and "I Know Myself" work just fine as background music, and the strengths of the songs with vocals can't help but bring the instrumental tracks down a notch. Your Love Means Everything is a fine album, and one guesses that given the right set of circumstances and more first-rate collaborators, Faultline's star should continue to shine. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide