by Nitsuh Abebe
Fragments of Paradise collects a number of occasionally-lovely, occasionally-eerie guitar-based compositions from Taku Sugimoto, along with contributions from Hisao Mashida and Shimpour Yanagawa, and one improvisation by Sugimoto, Mashida, and Rinji Fukuoka. The collection is consistently wonderful: its very sparse and quiet arrangements are occasionally reminiscent of early Loren Mazzacane, with guitars drifting languidly along and occasional minimal touches of piano or violin -- some tracks have an inscrutable minimalism that simply looms in the background, but most center on melodically composed touches of ringing guitars that have a bit in common with Sam Prekop's more minimal solo work. It's an excellent -- and exceptionally intelligent -- album.