Kuroi Mori
Dawning
Tone Casualties
From the land of the rising sun comes Kuroi Mori, the latest oddball to wash up on our salty shores. The brainchild of only one, Hiroki Furutani, Dawning slowly wades through the downtrodden from start to finish. Tinges of jazz sprinkle the submerged melodies, with soothing piano and reverberating percussion permeating through the hip-hop “Circus” and virtually every other piece. The vocals remain few and far between, taking a backseat to the cascading sounds. At times, it steps too close to FSOL imitation, like on the closing title track. Other times, it could be mistaken for elevator music, but we need to be easy on our ears every once in a while, and Dawning goes down easier than sushi, so dig in.
Tone Casualties Records, 6353 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028; http://www.tonecasualties.com