Innerstanding

Innerstanding is Dhani Harrisons second album, arriving six years after his debut. Between those two records, he worked with his partner Paul Hicks on a variety of scores, honing their abilities at sculpting sonic soundscapes. Their skills are evident throughout Innerstanding, an ever-shifting, meditative record occupying a space somewhere between close listening and ambience. Despite its reliance on mood, this is not instrumental music, nor is it all hushed. Often, Innerstanding lurches forward on shards of noise, distorted voices, and gnarled guitar, including some contributions from Blurs Graham Coxon on "New Religion." Harrison doesnt assault the listener so much as provoke, keeping them off guard enough to allow the meditations and soul-searching of his album to seep into the subconscious. If Innerstanding favors aural texture to melodic immediacy, theres intrigue in how its electronic pulse intermingles with shimmering mantras, resulting in a record that reveals its mysteries over time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine