Substrates: Ambient Works 1995-1999 is a collection of work by Todd Gautreau, created prior to Arrival Lounge and Heartbeat Submarines, the two records he released as Sonogram. During this era, Gautreau was also occupied with Tear Ceremony, the group he played with throughout the '90s, and a few tracks (we're not told which ones) were originally meant for their album Film Decay. Like most ambient music, Substrates defines itself through mood rather than narrative: there are the requisite formless repetitives (the title track, "On a Drowsy Sea") and acid-trip-in-the-airport vocal sample-fests ("How to Bury Your Dreams"), and these are very nice, if a bit wallpaperish to newcomers. Gautreau's modus operandi seems to be "reverb... and lots of it!" His blurry, intensely organic synthesizers can be soothing, obviously -- paired with spacious bass and guitar on "My Disheveled Affairs" or slooooowly unfolding a hypnotic drone in "Caspian". However, they can just as easily be unsettling without going clinical... as with "Trajectory"'s plaintive layers, reminiscent but not imitative of violins. Gautreau seems to be flirting with accessibility; none of this stuff comes close to being impenetrable, though certain tracks are more "listenable" than others, and the longest one is only five and a half minutes -- amazing restraint for this sort of music. He also shows off a considerable flair for melody. "Maudlin" rhythmically staggers its various treated sounds -- guitar, electric piano, soft pads -- with evocative analog moans to create a sad landscape that fully deserves its title; "The Mermaid Remains Oblivious" and "Ondine" provide real focal points in the form of winsome piano figures. "The Lonely Acrobats" mingles concept with (relative) catchiness when it breaks into a circus-tinged interval of high-pitched oscillations and flutey counterpoint; the trapeze artists are just performing in slow motion.

It's hard to tell whether Substrates is arranged in chronological order. Perhaps not, as it flows a little too well to have been trusted to such an arbitrary sequence. As these tracks haven't seen the light of day until now, it's safe to assume that Gautreau didn't think they were quite up to snuff; indeed, certain pieces do seem rather fragmentary. Rather than sounding unfinished, though, the effect is cinematic. Substrates brightens any room it enters.