Norway's Silje Nes has a wealth of musical experience in her background, including classical piano training and time spent as an orchestral timpanist, marching band drummer, and indie pop musician, but the pieces on Ames Room, her debut album, shied away from her formalist musical past for a more exploratory, unsophisticated, evocative approach, using instruments (guitar, cello, loop pedals) and techniques (four-track and laptop recording) with which she'd had limited previous experience. Her 2010 album Opticks was more polished, but was also crafted in her home studio. ~ K. Ross Hoffman