Ernest Gonzales

Ernest Gonzales

Ernest Gonzales makes music like Martha Stewart makes beds: clean and crisp. Formerly known as Theory of Everything, the San Antonio family man's bedroom beats and drum-machine eclectics hint at Austin's Octopus Project but without the energy and drive. That plants him firmly in the ambient category, manipulated guitar, keys, and percussion on opener "Reminisce" and "One Type of Adaptation" begging for climax. "Sophia's Lullaby" is remote yet beautifully chilling, but the techno ticks of "Rockstar Sequence" destroy the calm. Emptiness is overwhelming until the closing Daedelus remix of the title track, where the innocence of a boy's clear, enunciated voice is juxtaposed against the cold technologies of the 21st century. It's here that Gonzales' sweet nothings jump out from the background and become full-fledged experimental emotion on disc.