Oh, how I envy you future-dwellers. You now know who will be the next mediocre president of our great land. I, a mere past-dweller, sit here at my desk the morning after the election, tired and depressed after a rollercoaster night of website checking and network television watching, still wearily holding onto my dim hope that Warren Beatty will take home the prize. And you know, when you're looking for something to listen to on a morning like this, sometimes dark, dirgey instrumental jams are just the thing.

Hey, what's this!?! A new CD from Hochenkeit. It's dark! It's dirgey! It's full of strange instruments and buzzing noises with no known source. I'll take it.

If you're familiar with Hochenkeit's last disc, I Love You, you might be surprised to discover that this time around they've dropped most of the electronic noodling that made that album fly, in favor of more organic, acoustically-based noodling on a variety of exotic and not-so-exotic instruments. Let's see...we've got violin, harmonium, percussion of various sorts, madal (a Tibetan drum), chang (a Thai reed instrument), a Hammond organ, bass and a number of others.

There are six tracks on this CD, and while they have their differences they all flow nicely from one to the next, making the listening experience relaxing and contemplative. Occasional samples liven things up, as do momentary rhythmic outbursts, but in general this is mellow, flowing music -- well-suited to ballot-box stuffing and other activities that require a soothing, yet complex and intriguing sonic backdrop.

The lovely soundscapes, combined with interesting instrumentation and clean, clear recording -- not to mention the fact that track six, "Please Turn Out the Sun", seems to have my favorite old-skool analog Roland Dr. Rhythm drum machine burbling along in the background the whole time -- conspire to make this oddly-titled disc a winner. Plus there's a picture of two fish kissing on the cover. Nothing wrong with that.