Track Listing

1. Luminous
2. Venture
3. Summer Break
4. Fog
5. 48th & 8th
6. Surf
7. Riverside
8. Cross County
9. Hope
10. Messina

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103047 in Music
• Released on: 2006-03-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .15 pounds

Customer Reviews

lanterna does it again
This could be my favorite of Lanterna's releases. It seems to expand on the cinematic soundscapes of their previous voyages and continue into some new frontier. This album feels like more of a band effort than Lanterna's Sands CD with more drums and bass playing. It lifts you up right from the start and also allows you to drift along with the open vastness that songs like "Hope" provide. I'd really like to give it 4.5 stars.

Absolutely stunning and original!
I was recommended this CD by a previously unknown band called Lanterna. After giving it a good listen, I was absolutely floored at the beauty that came out of the headphone speakers. Lanterna's "Desert Ocean" gets my nomination as one of the best CDs of 2006 and perhaps one of the best and most original CDs that I've heard in years! A great thing that boosts it is that fact that it emphasizes on much more acoustic instruments and actually uses real drums and even brush snares as opposed to drum machines. The entire album has a very natural and organic quality throughout. I could describe this as being a combination of U2 at it's most atmospheric and romantic circa "The Unforgettable Fire" with the strange atmospheres of post-OK Computer Radiohead.

The entire CD is among the most consistent post-rock albums that I've heard in this entire decade as of writing this review. The beauty about it is that it has almost no electronic sound effects and instead just beautiful guitar licks and acoustic drums. "Desert Ocean" is almost like a walk down a foggy neighborhood on an overcast evening. "Fog" has among the strangest electric guitar arrangements that I've heard in years with different styles actually being heard in a multilayered fasion.

Guitar Poem for Summer Journeys
Lanterna creates musical landscapes of high creativity while remaining centered in a crystalline perfection. This is a journey through guitarist Henry Frayne's world of ambient spaces. At times you can hear the sounds washing to the shore in psychedelic swirls of sound. The energy propelling the songs forward makes this perfect for listening in the car or when you are out walking.

Desert Ocean's lush instrumental high takes you on a visual journey if you are in the mood. If not, you can simply turn off your mind and relax into the creative flow. If you enjoy Pink Floyd, you will adore this album. The drum brushing of Eric Gebow adds jazzy appeal.

Every track is pure guitar perfection with moments of ecstasy and delicate haunting escapes. I find myself turning up the volume and sinking into sound. Perfect for lazy summer afternoon dream pop moods.

~The Rebecca Review