Comprised of eight aural vignettes, the album is a wood-grained, amber-hued world
respectfully orbiting influences like Nick Drake, Sibylle Baier, and the softest
moments of Broadcast. Paisley fabrics fade beneath an uncovered window, while
dust and smoke billow gently through the sunbeams that never fully reach the dark
half of the room. I See You Among the Stars achieves what the best music in the
genre does: pictures with tangible depth, color, and detail painted with only a few
well-chosen pigments.
The title track "I See You Among The Stars" trots the album in with bouncing acoustic
guitar, lulling the listener into perceived safety before curious chord changes and
synthetic chimes remind us we're entering the land of the slightly askew. This tell-tale
lysergic, ominous wonder deepens as the album progresses into tracks like "Anyway
When I Look In Your Eyes", a song that parallels the somber honesty and intelligent
songcraft of Elliott Smith who borrowed equally from Risker's beloved pool of
influences. "Zero Summer Mind" gleams off the cobwebs like moonlight, plodding
down a darkened hallway with mellowed affliction. Like so many moments on I See
You Among the Stars there is a perfect thread of quiet despair that renders the
playfulness of its surroundings subversive and slightly wicked, making the whole
affair psychedelic in the actual sense of the word. Sure, the colors may be brighter,
but the shadows are also longer and darker.
