Lullatone, Songs That Spin in Circles

review by dave heaton

The Japanese duo Lullatone makes dreamy, delicate electronic music redolent of imagination, of the freedom and innocence of childhood. At its best, it’s smart, fun, romantic, and rather strikingly beautiful music. Recently they released an “introduction to Lullatone” CD memorably titled We Will Rock You…to Sleep, and their music does seem to be going more in that direction.

All of their albums could probably be seen as concept albums (take, for example, a title like Little Songs About Raindrops), but Songs That Spin in Circles especially so. The song titles play off the album title, describing different things that spin: “A Mobile Over Your Head”, “A Merry Go Round in the Park”, “A Toy Train On Its Track”. The “your” in the first one, and the general tilt of the references, should give you a clue of the audience Lullatone had in mind. Essentially instrumental, this is a CD of lullabies, written for their new-born son.

Each track captures the dreamy motion of the objects in the song titles. Each feels circular, like it could run on as a gorgeous, peaceful infinity loop. The focus of this CD is impressive, but even more so is the music itself, both simple and sophisticated. “A Plastic Bag in the Window” has a bossa nova lilt; “A Carousel on a Slide Projector” has a toy music-box quality; “Tops on a Table” has a playful, intricate mathematical quality. Each track has its own personality, yet together they stand (or float) as one creative act of lulling us gently, gracefully to sleep.

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