Got this CDR in the mail awhile ago and what a sparse little guy this is. While most purveyors of experimental electronics are also concerned with their image, wrapping their most minimal music in the most elaborate packages, Ophibre works the converse ? a case of minimalist anonymity housing music that has all the qualities of an epic though doesn?t quite reach such grandeur. Had it not been for the short press letter, the plain white CDR would be packaged in a clear plastic slipcase with a small baggy containing to jigsaw pieces to indicate the title: ?Puzzle Pieces.? I?m not sure how the title is supposed to fit the music because little of the album sounds disjointed. Quite the opposite, actually. The two pieces here don?t stray too far from the outset, each track usually consists of droning electronics, a contact mic in a washing machine, and a bunch of wooshes and whirs as Ophibre tweaks his equipment. And I wouldn?t go so far to say that the two puzzle pieces in the baggy are as useless as this release. This really short e.p. is an interesting experiment in homemade electronics (I think) and is obviously a part of a progression. But the two tracks do fail to connect on a meaningful level. This sounds kind of like a hobby project more than a truly inspired unit. I?m not getting the sense that much is being expressed with these compositions, either in idea or emotion. It sounds harsh to call this a hobby, and I really don?t want to steer any interest away from the guy?s work because of this. The few tracks I heard on my space definitely have different techniques altogether. My hope is that ?Puzzle Pieces? represents a step toward a more mature, expressive sound. Though this maybe an uninteresting e.p. among the handful of full lengths self-released on the Oph Sound label. Again, I say, it?s not horrible just a little mediocre. Amateurish only in the sense that the intended ends have not been fulfilled (I hope.) And if you?re into homemade electronics and analog synthesizers, this is yet another project to keep your eye on. Yes, there are better in that end of the game, but too few who have a style that transcends the novelty of their equipment. And from what I can hear, Ophibre is working down a far less referential path, one that at this point, remains too esoteric. 5/10 -- Kenneth Zubiate (3 October, 2007)