As leader of Savage Republic and Scenic, Bruce Licher patented a brand of desert rock that influenced Calexico and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. For their first LP since 1996, however, Licher has steered Scenic out of the Mojave and into cosmic territories. The results are depressing: clichéd titles like "A Journey Through The Outer Reaches Of Inner Space" signal the paucity of imagination behind instrumentals that fall between new age and super-annuated prog. Neither the participation of Harold Budd, nor an embarrassing Chemical Bros knock-off ("Lightspeed"), can save this.

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