Centres

For all its listenability, Centres is still wildly inventive. [No. 133, p.55]

Craig has become so good at his craft that one might be tempted to call Centres a magnum opus--it’s certainly grand enough.

Taking Craig's already distinctive, powerful sound to extremes, Centres is another truly remarkable work.

Centres initially seems like a near-formless sea of sound and voice. But over time, it reveals patterns inside the swirl, and the more time you spend in it, the further you will to get lost in its wondrous confines.

Centres has the ability to both mollify and unnerve, and to think that most of it was assembled through sensitive means speaks volumes of Craig’s greater ambitions.

He has vision and ambition beyond the scope of most of us and he is able to bring it to fruition. Long may he find new fans for his challenging but deeply satisfying work.

A Circle Without Having To Curve is a billowing transmission from some gigantic sullen hulk. Elsewhere texture, hiss and layered voices head into abstraction, but if you think he's afraid of revealing himself, the voice and guitar reprise Contain (Cedar Version) ends the album with a sweet re-entry to the daylight. [Aug 2016, p.110]

There's an addictive, hypnagogic quality to this ghostly combination of ambient noise, treated vocals and bursts if static. [Aug 2016, p.73]

If Craig can manage to maintain his unique delicacy of sound, while pushing his melodic capabilities, he could achieve something special. Yet, if he allows pop elements to take over, instead of remaining as hints and references, he risks becoming simply another producer penning groovy, soulless hits for electro-pop scenesters. In order to remain distinctive, Craig will need to keep the balance he’s struck here firmly in mind.

On Centres, the songs have a lyrical content that makes their meaning more discernible. [Aug 2016, p.48]