Aural Fixation Records PINNA01CD
23 tracks : 78 minutes

Space Rock
Hurrah! A concept album. "The Perfume of Creosote" is a journey, taking the listener on a daylong sojourn through the desert from emboldened sunrise (Surya, The Divine Sun) to the dreamlike, UFO-infused night sky (As Heaven Falls from the Sky). So far, so hippy. But pay attention at the back, for this is absolutely compelling.

From the opening "Surya, The Divine Sun" (named after the Hindu sun god) through the astonishing "Mirage" (which remarkably sounds like one, which makes no sense until you listen to it) to "Riparian Oasis" with its beautiful guitar solo to the all too brief (but enthralling) "Dance of the Scorpions", this is an outstanding release.

Taking aspects of ambience, world music, psychedelia and jazz, the artists concerned, Michael Ely and Spider Taylor, have produced a lush and exotic beast of an album, inspiring in its beauty and wonder. There are twenty three stages to their journey, all of which combine to produce an elongated yet enigmatic and melodic eighty minutes masterpiece. Particularly noteworthy are the percussive elements, which fuse everything together, giving you something to hold on to, as the desert heat takes its toll. Look to "Adventures Of A Packrat" for a perfect example of the fusing together of disparate sounds.

Space rock aficionados will find much to love here, especially towards the latter stages of the journey, culminating in the resplendent "As Heaven Falls From The Sky". It could have been a bit of a mess, what with tribal percussion, prog rock guitars, trip-hop beats an ambient soundscapes, but you'll be hard pushed to find a better fusion experiment

--Stuart, aka zeitgeist

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CD Services
Now it's not often that I'm flummoxed, but this thing's got me beaten--what on earth category do you put it in? Is it prog-rock--or psychedelic--or ambient--or contemporary--or what? It's got all those and more across a staggering twenty-three tracks over 78 minutes of instrumental music. Bearing in mind I don't have the time to do a track-by-track breakdown, it's then very difficult to describe it as a whole. First off, it's rhythmic throughout, with chunky drums and deep bass that you'd find on something resembling a mix of Can, Banco de Gaia & early Ozrics. Then there's the melodies-- lots and lots of layers of synths, keyboards and guitars, all presented in easily digestible chunks that are incredibly addictive, tunes like prog, atmospheres like ambience, powerful like Krautrock and heady like psychedelia--yet all so clean and full-sounding in terms of arrangements and production. I have to say that I loved every minute of it, but who out there is going to buy it without a great leap of faith in my--and others--review, I really couldn't say. Something so different shouldn't be this good--but it is.

--Andy Garibaldi

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A Customer Review at Amazon.com
Every day, I have a different tune stuck in my head. Few things in life give me greater joy than discovering a musical gem that I find myself wanting to listen to over and over again. The Perfume of Creosote is such a gem. Each track has a definite hook. The variety keeps the album interesting, and the images it invokes are as vivid as the accompanying soundtrack. Yet, the soundscapes do not hit you over the head as much as the track titles might suggest. For example, I never would have guessed the dreamy, hypnotic, earworm-inducing "Tarantulas" was inspired by large furry arachnids, yet now that I know, I can easily envision the gentle creatures methodically combing the desert at twilight. The various tracks are lush with plenty of exotic percussion (a personal favorite of mine) yet not so overpowering as to leave nothing to the imagination. There is nothing deceptive about Smoke & Mirrors. These guys have nothing up their sleeves. They know exactly what they are doing, and it is brilliant.

--Evan Whitney

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fmsound.net 
This CD is not what its promotional material promises. It is actually much better. It is described as a journey through the desert, with a combination of "ambience, world music, alternative rock, lounge music, music for film, and hints of psychedelic and jazz." With its strong percussive base, it is too loud to be a trip through the desert. It is more like a film score for an exotic jungle or South Seas island location.

You might fear that the combination of all the music mentioned above would be chaotic, or just sound like doodling. But Michael Ely and Spider Taylor, who take the nom de plume Smoke and Mirrors, have been involved in music for a long time, and it shows in their careful construction and excellent production. These twenty three pieces feature guitar or keyboards over varied beats. The melodies are quite beautiful throughout, which is impressive for a CD that is eighty minutes long.

The beats are all organic sounding, with a variety of percussion featuring many types of hand drums. They are a bit jarring at first compared to the stateliness of the melodies. After your ears adjust to them, however, the beats are very complimentary and give the music a sense of motion.

This CD does take you on a journey. Each track offers a different complex rhythm, and each tune expresses a different mood. Many pieces are ethereal and some convey a sense of mystery. Some have a sense of foreboding, while others bring a feeling of peace. Smoke and mirrors implies that someone is trying to fool you. Any tricks used here, though, are worth listening to.

--David Howell

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www.ambient.us AmbientBBoard posting
East meets southwest in a vibrant world-jazz-rock-ethno-ambient fusion[whew]. This is definitely a unique recording blending many different genres together. In the first track "Surya, The Divine Sun" for example, didgeridoo, electric guitar, drumkit, percussion and vibes join forces in a loping, strutting, rhythm across the desert floor, with an eastern sounding melody. There are 23 tracks on this disc that blend together expertly. Most tracks feature some type of drumkit, keyboard, percussion, and guitar, with desert textures. Some other highlights: "Mirage"-dreamy, echoing guitar with percussion and cymbals. "Rattlesnake"-a perky electro strut with spaghetti western guitar. "Adventures Of A Packrat"-nice piano melody with percussion, synth, electric bass and drumkit. "Monsoon"-juicy bass and guitar work in a nice groove over a swaggering rhythm. "Roadrunner"-a rapid fire synth, nice guitar and a sturdy rhythm propel the listener down the highway. You can see the heat rising off the sand and feel the desert wind. This list could go on and on. Pretty much every song on this disc is a highlight. There are enough killer grooves and ideas packed in here for three or four albums, and the quality of musicianship is excellent! Not exactly ambient, but good music is good music! Fans of fusion music will love this. If you are looking for a different sort of musical adventure this is a sonic vacation you may not want to come back from. Pack your bags and go away for the weekend. The departure station is at: www.auralfixationrecords.com.

--Dodds Wiley

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ambientrance 
A 23-track motherlode awaits in the ear-travelogue of The Perfume of Creosote: Desert Exotica Part 1. Along the way, be entertained by the aural feats Smoke & Mirrors who trick your ears with guitars, bass, keys, beats and more.

On thump-rippling beats, Tarantulas sway through a softly psychedelic world of relaxed rocktronic visions, topped by skyswirling guitars and synths. Lighter rhythms steer Mirage through a flow of tenderly twisted six-strings, followed by the entrancing instrumental groove of Rattlesnake and its western-ish twangs and spy-theme keys.

Sassy beats and sweetly churning rays dance through pert Ocotillo precede the moodier soundtrack-like Petroglyphs and Bones. Dreamy symphonic streams melt under the insistent thuds of Monsoon; the steady tattoo is ensnared in meandering solos and recurrences of the intro theme. From the Riparian Oasis, radiant riffage spirals skyward, powered by drums and drifts.

Weirdly grumbling subcurrents crawl beneath the guitar-glow of Turquoise and Copper. Odd shimmers are exploded by jangles and static when Dance of the Scorpions makes its brief, enigmatic appearance. The curtain drops in As Heaven Falls From The Sky; spaced-out blippery twinkles in synth-borne beatlessness, draped in orchestral sweeps.

Sometimes dipping into a little tasty cheesiness, The Perfume of Creosote: Desert Exotica Part 1 is rather more straightforwardly "musical" than much of my listening diet, though an incorrigibly playful outing. These "normal" soundsets are inventively tweaked to form new electronic-rock formations... a whole 78.5 minutes worth (!), from Spider Taylor and Michael Ely of Smoke & Mirrors. Tunefulness served up with energy and style. B+

--David J. Opdyke

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2 Walls Webzine
"Ambient world music" would be the closest label to pin on this release by Smoke & Mirrors. But describing the general genre of 23 tracks isn't an easy task. This richly layered instrumental "desert soundtrack" can be loosely compared to Euphoria or Deep Forest, but because of rhythm-heavy beats and uptempo trip-hop sounds, a comparison to Moby is in order. Throw in some swirling psychedelic trance sounds, some tribal beats, and some sampled desert noises (like birds and wind), and you've got yourself an aural journey through the Sonoran Desert.

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smother.net  Editor's Pick
Concept albums don’t always work. This concept album does work. With an intent on desert journey via soundscape and experimental ambient music, Smoke & Mirrors takes the bull by the horns and as soon as the first track starts to seep its way from the speakers to your ears to your brain your synapses will start firing and you’re instantly transported to the Arizona desert. Blantantly dream-like, “The Perfume of Creosote” mixes styles ranging from adult contemporary to jazz to lounge to film music to world and even alternative rock for an ambient conceptual desert journey based around the lush Sonoran desert. I find this album compelling, breathtaking, and moving. Hopefully you will too.

-J-Sin

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Astro Zombie 
Here, a Tucson-based duo present a rich and varied collection of instrumental soundtracks that, like the title implies, set a mood of expansive landscapes and faraway terrain. SMOKE & MIRRORS somehow hit just about all the bases here--from the big tribal percussion with prog-rock style guitars of the first track to moody trip-hop style beats, to ambient rock that wouldn't be too out of place on a classic 4AD release.

In-between, you'll find accents of jazz, dance, psychedelia, and even lounge music. 'The Perfume Of Creosote' is a lengthy (23-track, 79-minute) set of modern exotica that takes hints from Les Baxter and Martin Denny, but runs with it into the desert. But this is not the lonely, desolate desert sounds of STEVE ROACH or other sonic magicians. In contrast, this is more like the sound of a cool oasis--lush and tropical, refreshing and relaxing, melodic and upbeat.

A uniquely individual and lively set of tunes that work on a variety of levels, and should appeal to a wide array of interests.

-Todd Zachritz

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Sonic Curiosity 
This CD offers 78 minutes of energized electronic music.

Smoke & Mirrors is: Michael Ely and Spider Taylor.

While sultry electronics are present in this music, versatile percussion and astral guitar provide an affluent backbone to the aridly evocative melodies. These percussives range from serpentine bongos to full drumkit to steel rhythms, providing engaging tempos to the cosmic harmonies. The velocity of the beats are unfrenzied, but far from languid, conveying considerable verve with their intricate patterns.

The guitar is equally adaptable, resounding one moment with wailing interstellar sensibilities, crooning the next with tender chords that border on romantic expressions. Grand sustains spiral into majestic heavens, caressing each distantly twinkling star with their emphatic cries; while soft chords are utilized to generate a rich outdoor flair that mixes a dust bowl lament with a hint of tribal predilection.

Delicate piano and electronic keyboards filter through the mix like rare waterways, saturating the music with their precious moisture. There are even a few orchestral touches that lend the flow even greater nobility.

Use of digeridoo and sandy flutes enhance the tuneage, reinforcing the desert motif while injecting an atmospheric edge that elevates the audience to lofty cloudbanks of seductive disposition.

The numerous tracks are often short, but not too brief that each piece sounds truncated or rushed. These dreamy compositions brim with pleasant sentiments that include subtle but infectious riffs intended to uplift and entertain.

-Matt Howarth

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Ear Pollution 
Regarding "When the Devil was a Little Boy" from their debut album The Perfume of Creosote: Desert Exotica Part 1, Smoke & Mirrors say: "We wanted to create the sounds of a dust devil, a mischievous desert windstorm in which all hell breaks loose." It's a three and a half minute dervish that sweeps across the hard-pack, guitars snarling like a "grit in the lines" version of Dick Dale. "When the Devil was a Little Boy" is followed by "Ocotillo." Now, I have no idea what an Ocotillo looks like, but -- based on the sweet samba sound of the track -- I'm guessing it must be some sort of exotic desert flower which thrives in those brief moments when the rains come.

Ex-pats of the Los Angeles underground rock scene, Michael Ely and Spider Taylor got the hell out of the dust bowl of urban blight and went into the desert where they, unexpectedly, fell in love with the natural landscapes surrounding Tucson, Arizona. The Perfume of Creosote: Desert Exotica Part 1 captures their affection for the desert through a cinematic blending of lounge, cinematic landscapes, psychedelia, jazz, ambient music, rock and world music. Each of the 23 tracks is a miniature mood piece, a different slice of the desert set to music.

Following the sprightly "Ocotillo," Ely and Taylor wander into the shadows of the red rocks for "Petroglyphs & Bones," a spooky interlude with the ancient fossils of forgotten species. Instead of going the creepy route for "Tarantulas," the duo decide to craft an elemental piece which focuses more on the spider's place in the desert -- a necessary part of the larger ecosystem and not just a freaky eight-legged monster. "Monsoon" chases the quick thunderheads which gather in an instant, flash flood a region, and move on. In the aftermath of the storm, the sky clears and the water glistens on every surface like diamonds caught in the stone. "Ring Around the Moon" captures the stillness of the clear, desert night when the light from the moon is so bright that it reflects back on itself creating the silver ring in the sky. It's a mysterious empty sky, filled with haunted melodies that seem to drift independently of any breeze. "Sonoran Sunset" captures the edge of the horizon as it bleeds with rich color. The song is filled with overlapping synth melodies, spreading rhythms which cover you like warm butter. They float down over you, gently and delicately taking you to that moment when the sky turns dark blue and then black.

The spirit of Les Baxter and Martin Denny move through the music of Smoke & Mirrors, caught up in the ephemeral thermals which ride over the hot desert landscapes. I'm a big fan of desert soundtracks and will happily point anyone who asks towards A Small Good Thing's Slim Westerns, Dead Hollywood Stars' Gone West, and Scenic's Incident at Cima. However, none of these three capture the rich colors of the desert. We think of deserts as endless wastelands of sand and rock with only three tints of brown to go between them. What we don't really remember is the vivid colors which spring up in the desert at a moment's notice. Ely and Taylor transport the delicious lushness of tropical exotica into the Sonoran Desert. The Perfume of Creosote: Desert Exotica Part 1 is a heady day-long adventure. I've got four records that will travel with me now when I go south for the winter.

-Mark Teppo