Microbunny is Al Okada, Tamara Williamson, King Kong Girio and Reverend Cino Evil.  If you ever have the chance to see them live I would urge you to do so, you will not regret it.  While I would not say that Dead Stars has eclipsed Microbunny's self titled album, it has not been overshadowed by it in any way either.  I see it as a natural progression of the sound that Al Okada started with the first release and was very pleased with the results.  You can really see the influence of early ambient talents like Brian Eno in this work through Al Okada's mastery of the minute.

The first track, Honeytone, jumps right into things with a nice bassy sound.  Tamara comes in with vocals that sound like she has just awoken from a dream.  The trumpet sets the mood for this song and the other sampled sounds round it out nicely.

I really like how the Rhodes and guitar blend in Gamma Hydra IV.  Lots of wild samples are used here [his own original creations of course] and the vocals are a nice accompaniment.  The lyrics are meaningless; Tamara's voice is just there to flesh out the piece.  You really get to see Al's constructed chaos coming to life in this one.

A very pretty piano piece starts off Wishing with a Portishead-esque flair.  Al is doing something with Tamara's voice that makes it sound otherworldly.  The track is very guitar driven once you get into it and Tamara does a duet with herself that comes out sugary sweet.

The Season of Change begins with the sound of wind blowing through chimes.  Nice fusion of sounds with a false start that in a way makes this two very short songs.  It leaves you with a very happy feeling.

Blue Stars is a prime example of Al creating a Jazz Club atmosphere with his songs.  Very laid back with the vocals acting as just another instrument.  King Kong Girio slays us on the upright bass.  This guy is damn good.

I was worried that The Drifter would be the same as the track of the same name that appeared as a part of the nonexistent [except on soulseek] 'Unreleased EP'.  It was a pleasant surprise when I found it to be completely different.  Both are good, however, I find the production quality better on the album version.  Reverend Cino Evil's talent on the drums undeniably shines through on this one.

Rose-Coloured Glasses also appeared on the 'CBC Big Break' compilation [along with Gamma Hydra IV].  Before I bought the compilation Al warned me that the quality of the recordings was not really up to his standards and you can tell that he has completely redone these tracks for this release.  The trumpet again sets the mood and the lazy vocals lead you through this song.  I remember loving this track on the compilation CD and now I get to do it all over again.

My favourite new track on Dead Stars has to be the title track.  It runs for 23:31 and is quite a testament to Al's skill at weaving songlets together.  It starts with a bass loop that is somewhat similar to the hidden track at the end of Massive Attack's 100^th Window.  All of the instruments enter at once to create a very smooth rolling jazzy beat.  Tamara's voice comes in, more echoing and otherworldly than in any of the other tracks.   Her voice and Al's playful sampling helps to turn what could have been a simple ambient track into something much more engaging.  Some active drumming accompanied by strange distortions moves the song into the second stage.  Ambient sounds start popping out of the soundscape [cash registers, helicopters, droplets, stronger distortions, and various vocal snippets].  Then all of a sudden a music that reminds me of the Doors weeds its way in and the track really comes into its own.  Tamara returns to paint the landscape with her voice.  A sound like a turbine brings the song into the third stage.  That sad sounding trumpet that has really made a couple of the other songs returns.  An ominous sound grows slowly and scattered voices and sounds appear from the white noise.  Things finally settle down and the song moves back towards its jazzy beginnings and finishes with the same bass loop that started it.

When going over the tracks I left out Grey Stars, Henoch, Binbo Furi, Silver Stars, Eminar VII and Season of Change [reprise].  While these all have a lot to offer as transition pieces into the next song, they don't really stand well on their own.  These tracks are very interesting however since they stand without vocal accompaniment and create an feeling similar to IDM.  The two that stood out for me were Binbo Furi and Eminar VII.  The first because of its fast paced beats and amazing percussion work and the second because of how it changes from the laid back pace of Blue Stars to an energetic sound reminiscent of a rave.

I could not give this album a higher recommendation than to say that it is as good as their debut.  Microbunny is one of those bands that is redefining the downtempo sound to the point that the label Trip Hop can no longer be applied to it.  However, with no better terminology at my disposal I will say that this is the best Trip Hop I have heard in quite some time.  The proprietor of this site and myself have a saying that Microbunny is 'music for headphones'.  I think that the main reason for this is that Hi Fidelity is more easily acquired in a headphone setup and you truly need a good sound system to appreciate all that Microbunny has to offer.

Any comments or questions can be sent to me via a personal message in the tripofagia forums...

Review written while listening on a NEC CDR-602 transport, an ART DI/O DAC, a PIMETA headphone amplifier and a pair of AKG K240 Studio headphones. [with Zu cabling used throughout]