Wonderfully Made

Album Review

Tears in X-Ray Eyes' Tim Closs does quite a bit with so little. On this competent collection of bare-bones chamber pop, he eschews an orchestra section for little more than piano and violin, in addition to gentle guitar, bass, and percussion. As a result, Wonderfully Made ends up sounding bigger than it should, especially on opener "Sleep Like a Dream." From there, the tempo unfortunately slows, though Closs becomes achingly driven to acknowledge the lows of life while reassuring comfort. "It's so hard to be on your own in these times/there's nowhere to hide," he deplores in "Sleep Like a Dream." He then calms his listeners with "don't be scared/you're never alone." Several more encouraging words follow: "I won't let you fall" and "I'll still be listening when nobody cares." Will anybody care about Closs? Only if they're as sentimental and soft as him.