by Ned RaggettThe backstory to Wisp's debut for Rephlex possesses a fair amount of attention-getting factors: there's the confusion of Wisp's work for the mysterious "unknown" artist on the label, the Tuss; the fact that The Shimmering Hour is meant to be a tribute to the work of J.R.R. Tolkien; and the various Northern European sources of inspiration he drew on, and so forth. As with everything, though, one has to take the music on its own merits, and Buffalo native R.W. Dunn's work makes for approachable enough electronic listening that is perfectly suited to a Rephlex release. The debt to artists like the Aphex Twin nearly being required, it's a matter of taking it new directions. Happily, Wisp helps put his own stamp on things early in the album with "Picatrix," an effective slice of melodrama that feels like a cinematic early-'80s New Romantic-era instrumental with a strong series of beats helping the song out of a potential glitch cul-de-sac. From there, Wisp's gift for self-contained beauties that hang together as an album turns up more often than not, with songs like "Keeper of the Hills," "Seaway Trail," and "Summoner's Hollow," the latter practically careening out of the speakers thanks to a breathtaking string/synth arrangement, are standouts. Certainly there are numbers that simply rework familiar approaches, like the hyperactive beats/calm melodies of "Hexenringe," but as an extension of the creative tradition combining electronics with archaic forms of artistic inspiration evident in much prog music throughout the '70s in particular, here reworked for newer times and technological advances, The Shimmering Hour is a fine treat.