Lately, I have been interested in discovering new creative musical talent from across the Atlantic that didn’t involve cheesy Eurovision jingles that are mostly in broken English. The recently discovered album Nothing's Lost by Styrofoam from the the German indie label Morr Music is now my favorite album of the week:

Styrofoam – Nothing’s Lost
(Morr Music, 2004)

     Many would say that Jack Kerouac was one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. His famous book On the Road, a semi-biographical and semi-confused frenzy of cross-country self-realization, gave him the title “King of the Beat Generation” and inspired a generation of post-modern writers and musicians, who in turn propagate his muse to the present.
     One of the many songs that pay homage to Kerouac is found on the album Nothing’s Lost by Belgian electronic artist Arne Van Petegem under his nom de plume Styrofoam. The endearing song “Couches In Alleys (ft. Ben Gibbard)” describes the identification that the speaker has with the symbolic escape the Road offers from the dreary, monochromatic routines of life. But upon reaching the end of the road, the speaker has to return home, where he comes to the realization that “I hadn't gone anywhere/And the problems I'd left were couches in alleys, that no one would ever claim.” The speaker asks for Jack’s advice with his dilemma—he is torn between the reveling in the enticing unknown of the Road, and resolving his problems that refuse to disappear on their own. As many beatniks wondered, forced to betray their naïve idealism for financial prosperity in the suburban sprawl, so the speaker wonders, why does the road end?

     Nothing’s Lost, of course, is more than one song’s tribute to a 20th century literary work. It is an expertly and carefully constructed blend of wistful daydreams and fuzzy melodic beats accented by playful sounds and blips reminiscent of squeaky styrofoam (the white stuff). The cohesiveness of the assorted musical styles is courtesy the brilliant mind of Styrofoam who rivals stateside experimental electronic artists. In this endeavor, Styrofoam enlists the talents of a number of prominent electronic artists including American ones. The first track “Misguided” is a duet that features Lali Puna’s Valerie Trebeljahr and the progressive hip-hop act Alias. It blends the ambient, otherworldly voice of Trebeljahr with the staccato commentary of Alias.
     Andrew Kenny from American Analog Set lends his voice to “Front To Back” which is probably the most prominent song on the record, despite not being created live in a studio, but rather being assembled through audio files exchanged electronically between the United States and Belgium. Andrew Kenny’s gentle voice gives the track an organic, intimate feel that makes one imagine encountering a park complete with a sapphire lake ringed with pines hidden away amidst the crowded streets of a cheerless city.
     Besides other collaborative tracks, like the memorable duet “Anything” between Das Pop’s Bent Van Looy and Japanese singer Miki, Petegem contributes not only the production and arrangements but also his own breathy vocals to complete this solidly produced album, currently his most accomplished work.