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Title: modern exotica
Review: Guitarist and composer Ben Vaughn has obviously listened long and hard to early-'60s exotica, TV themes, spy films, spaghetti Westerns, and cocktail music. His Designs in Music -- a highly arranged, richly textured collection of original instrumentals -- manages to pay tribute to guitarists Hank Marvin, Duane Eddy, and Vinnie Bell, and composers Martin Denny and Ennio Morricone, without being utterly derivative. Hearing the peppy themes and doo-ahh vocals, one might be tempted to write off Vaughn's music as kitsch. But a careful listening reveals a depth in the orchestration and writing that's totally AWOL in modern pop. Vaughn's guitar palette runs the gamut from spanky, tremolo-drenched lines to moody jazz-noir, and his vintage tones are always cleverly framed by various combinations of strings, brass, reeds, old-school analog synth and combo organ, harp, percussion, pedal steel, and wordless singing. Going on a road trip? These quirky sounds will make a perfect soundtrack.
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