REVIEWS

Ryan's solo, instrumental project, Myopic, born of ideas surrounding a commissioned theatrical score, slays those same beasts...but with more instruments. The seven-song release, Plays in Pieces, feels familiar, warm and plays like a soundtrack to a movie you know you've seen but just can't place, and that's such a good thing. "As Much As You Can III" is Ira Glass' dream transition music with its tinkling bells that morph into something intense and dreamy, sensitive and bombastic at the same time. "Things I Saw" showcases Ryan's restraint, beautifully simple piano contrasts with Rebecca Howard's dramatic violin resulting in a track that feels like it should play over the close of a tear-stained film, perhaps the same film that opened on better times with the driving, poppy "Fixture."

Because it's layered, dramatic and emotive, it might be tempting to just lump the impressive project in with no-vox bands like Explosions in the Sky, but, as Myopic's name implies, that would just be shortsighted. - dallas observer