Split Personality - Reflections
Digital Chemistry

By Ben Ohmart (more articles from this author) 2002-02-07

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Artist: Split Personality (www.digitalchemistrymusic.com/SplitPersonality)
Title: Reflections
Label: Digital Chemistry (www.digitalchemistrymusic.com)
Genre: Alt-Pop

The split personality comes from Brian Cobb, main cog of these reflections, and guest artist Nick Haddad (guitars on 3 tracks). Brian handles everything, from programming to vocals to guitars to keys and drums to - is there anything left? Brian has that self-taught love of music that really dominated the free spirit of music in the 70s with progressive-incredible artists like Jeff Beck, which really began in the 60s with The Who.

For the best of the 6 songs and 50 minutes, I have to keep going back to the start of the cd where 'Outside' takes me back 25 years with those wiry electric guitar licks and deep, necessary bass that works just as hard as the star sound. It's quite simply SP's best use of the half-indie, all-mainstream music that can't help but to get you involved, even during the introspective Pink Floyd space breaks.

Then there's the vast amount of AOM material which I always find most interesting, but usually doesn't find the airplay it might. Take 'Music in My Head' that splits itself between acoustic guitar and the rippling tinkle of a synth with the piano-clone pushed in. 'I really want to dazzle you / A melody that will melt you through / When I write it is very complex / I can't explain in this context / It differs with every time I write.'

I admire Brian's composing and putting-it-together skill, though I'm not sure if his sound is going to beat out a lot of the broader, thicker orchestral sounding boards so dominant in this electronic age. But it is Very hard not to like the set up to 'Palindrome,' which takes on an ambient structure while climbing up to the modern rock tempo of the starting words 'No one cares cause no one knows / About the truth we live each day / Life is a cycle with wheels spinning 'round / We end at the start, for me I can say: / Life moving forward / Is life moving backwards.'

Reflections is an album best learned after dark. Indeed, the cd cover shows our world in darkness, looking at itself in a blurred reflection. This is a very personal album that will take a few listens to fully appreciate, like a personality puzzle full of pieces and colors, cut into interesting shapes.

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