7/7/2000 12:00:00 AM
See Into Your Soul - Hob.com
TIM REYNOLDS
"See Into Your Soul"
2000 TR Music
Review By: Albert Torres
July 7, 2000
If there were a line between artistry and alchemy, you would most likely find Tim Reynolds balanced on the narrow middle ground concocting what can best be described as a musical potion for those who have developed an immunity to the average auditory venture. On See Into Your Soul Reynolds continues his seemingly insatiable deconstruction of the limits held within a six string.
Alternating between the familiar confident plucking he displayed on his sole composition on the 1999 Dave Mathews collaboration Live at Luther College, and a healthy mixture of serene percussive acoustics juxtaposed against some daringly explosive diversions, Reynolds seems to capture an improvisational spirit within the confines of his style and structure. Occasionally Reynolds allows his detours to go pleasantly haywire, wildly contradicting the lucid calm of his hypnotic mainstays. Tracks like the appropriately titled "Frantic" come unhinged, playing out more like an exercise in anger management, than a cohesive part of the whole.
Attributed with giving Dave Mathews the impetus to begin writing and ultimately form his own band, Reynolds offers scattered moments throughout this instrumental collection ("Hopeful Heresy") that act as solid cross reference points to where the two men meet in technique. And yet even with this shared stamp in place, Reynolds leaves an indelible mark throughout, placing him among the few, who truly can and consistently do, break free beyond the boundaries of conformity.