Sean Smith first became known as a New American Primitive-style acoustic guitarist before he gradually began incorporating electric guitars into his work and switching to neo-psychedelia. From there, he started making ambient soundscapes as
LFZ, using electric guitars with effects as well as synthesizers. Most of his
LFZ recordings have surfaced as limited, self-released tapes or CD-Rs, but
Name Plus Focus marks the project's debut for John Dwyer's Castle Face label, generally known for releasing garage punk and psych rock rather than ambient music. The seven pieces on this album are filled with sweeping synth melodies, bright in tone but with a sense of drama or fear to them. They also seem a little rough and unpolished -- the feedback on opener "Start Forever" is sharp and stings a little bit. It certainly feels spontaneous and D.I.Y., and one can easily imagine
Smith performing these pieces in someone's basement or a hushed bar rather than a large, formal concert venue, so the project isn't out of place on a garage rock label. Musically, it's easy to trace the album's influences, from the minimalism of
Terry Riley to the sequencer pulsations of the Berlin School, particularly on the mesmerizing centerpiece "Naturalistic." "Silence" starts with very sparse, warped piano-like notes before layers of subdued guitars chime in. Suspenseful synth chords set the stage of "Name Plus Focus Equals Purpose," and pitch-bent notes take the piece to the outer sensory limits. The album's final selection, "An Ambiguous Utopia," starts out sounding sinister and trippy, but ends up smoothing out by its conclusion.
Name Plus Focus winds up sounding closer to a low-budget soundtrack than a typical synth-drone record, but it's still quite meditative and relaxing, even as it's a little bit haunting. ~ Paul Simpson