Hailing from Arizona, Keepsakes keeps it dry and sparse with some pretty arrangements, collections of field recordings, shortwave, and lots of percussion.

All the songs sound very open and drifting. Which is a nice way to set a mood, but after a while it’s hard to hold onto.

The packaging is nice, heavy on the inserts including a small map and something to plant. I think this is supposed to evoke the area, which it was recorded, but the aura is kind of bludgeoned over your head in the sounds.

Maybe that’s what I’m not into about this disc, too much atmosphere and not enough ground. It’s dedicated to his wife, so now that kind of makes me sound like a dick. 4/10 -- Andrew Murdock Livingston (27 January, 2010)