Rather than start this review with the customary witty hook, I'll just cut the crap and start the groveling. I am truly not worthy to partake of music as good as White Sky! I've heard the CD several times and each time I'm left with a profound sense of awe, stunned by its power and beauty. Archer Prewitt (ex-Coctails, current-The Sea and Cake) not only writes songs with depth and complexity, but orchestrates them so gorgeously that I almost feel like I could reach out and touch the music. Along with various flavors of guitars and drums, subtle brass mingles with restrained percussion, all held afloat by occasional strings. But it's not so much the instruments Prewitt employs that make his music so beautiful, as the almost magical balance he's able to achieve with them. I can't start to pick favorites because I'm truly enamored with every song on the disc -- but let's talk about the second track, "Shake", for a glimpse at what Prewitt can do. In the beginning the lyrics, with oblique references to drug and alcohol abuse, paint a picture of intense malaise, of yearning underscored by shimmering, flowing music. At the end, the brass section kicks in and the tempo increases in a soulful coda with the lyrics "Shake It All Away". This shift of mood is brilliantly sinister, and I think communicates a certain tragic delusion on the part of the speaker. Furthermore, it's indicative of the emotional control of which Prewitt is capable -- enough to strike fear into the most cynical of rock reviewers! Quibble with me if you must, but it's your loss. White Sky is one of the finest records you could buy this year.