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CD by Guitares Cinématiques
available via
$15

THE debut album by California-based Guitares Cinématiques takes its name from the idea that Antarctic seabirds might sometimes stand on meteorites that originally came from Mars – such as , famously touted in 1996 as a potential hoard of extraterrestrial life.

One of the is named after that notorious rock, and Mars pops up several more times: one song is narrated by an ancient Martian (in Japanese) and another by the pilot of a shuttle to the Red Planet. The inspirations behind other tracks – described on the project’s website, complete with – range from solar storms to relativity to ‘s Kon-Tiki raft.

Such themes weren’t evoked particularly clearly for me by the music – vaguely ambient jazz performed mostly on a modified acoustic guitar. But those who enjoy the likes of may find it worth a listen.