James Reichelt has done it again. Not only has he done it again, but he has done it in a larger quantity. Nothing Totally Changes is the follow up to Several Quiet Moments.

But it could, quite easily be called Several More Quiet Moments. Much like its shorter predecessor, it is a perfect chill out album.

Alone Again, Naturally:

Titles are always an interesting subject to mention when alone is around. His last effort featured the track title of "When My Headlights Meet Yours". It is a wordless track about a car crash.

Here, the car theme continues with the title of "Dashboard Jesus" and possibly "When Things Move Too Fast".

Track by Track:

Nothing Totally Changes begins with "....So Good?" a short, crackly burst of echoing sounds that produce the illusion of slow rotation. A steel guitar strums into life in a segue to "Koala" and the album proper begins.

"Dashboard Jesus" builds up from a gentle guitar riff, slowly introducing soft whirring noises and quiet percussive effects. The result is a contradiction: relaxed busy-ness and busy relaxation. Eventually it turns into something you might hear on Ibiza.

Tomorrow's World:

"Welcome to the World of Tomorrow" is another busy track. It could easily soundtrack a film about robots or automated activity. It segues into "Full Circle", perfectly named due to the similarities of the introduction with that of previous track "Koala" which gives the album as a whole a sense of wholeness.

Sandwiched between the aptly named "Rush (Pt. 1)" and "Rush (Pt. 2)", comes the beautiful "Good Morning World". It is a track that is begging for a vocal to appear over the top of it. A huge, lyrical passage opens up into a statuesque symphony of electronic bleepery and guitar riffs.

Short of Change:

Later, a track called "When Things Move Too Fast" features a distorted guitar line straight out of The Matrix's soundtrack. "The Faces We Grew Up With" opens with Tom-Tom pats which opens up the way for the familiar guitar lines.

The last track shares it's name with that of the album, "Nothing Totally Changes". And it doesn't. There may be the occasional adjustment in mood or tone, but nothing quite as significant as a change.

I Want to be alone:

As a whole, the album is hypnotic and subtle. Beats are layered on top of one another and tunes gradually change so that you barely notice.

Mr. Reichelt is off to Cardiff in the autumn where he'll be studying fine art. Hopefully this is not the last we will here of the (a)lone star of Cheltenham.

11/08/04 - First published on www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire under this link