The core of Sybarite's album 'Nonument' (yes, there are nine songs to accompany the pun) sounds like the dallying analog electronics of ISAN mixed with some guitar and live percussion. Horns and cellos also dot the landscape created by Sybarite's Xian Hawkins.
Listening to 'Nonument,' I was also reminded of Mum, especially the way in which the tingling guitar sound on "The Fourth Day" rises and disperses, akin to the beginning Mum's "The Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records." Sybarite's arrangements are all quite dense, sometimes too consistently so. "Water" opens with a wavering cellist (Leah Coloff) all over the place on the neck of the instrument, sounding as if the cello was being tuned by musician on methamphetamines before a chamber concert. The sound is captivating, if only because it recalls the days when you used to warm up for your middle school holiday concerts, getting ready to play Pachelbel or something, and you wish Sybarite would extend this aural reminiscence just a little bit longer, before coming in with the beat and the vocals. But Hawkins does not oblige you, and for that you curse him silently under your breath. Sybarite is certainly able to show the complexity of his craft and the many layers he weaves into each song, but the end product is more a collection of moments than a finely-wrought record. I can listen endlessly to the lovely last forty seconds of "Accidental Triumph," though the three minute preamble to that does not really affect me. The biggest innovation for Sybarite on 'Nonument' is the addition of vocals to the songs, but their impact is hardly felt. The vocals mix well into the songs without calling much attention to themselves, which is arguably a fairly amiable effect. 'Nonuments' is a pleasant enough collection of songs, but they tend to get tangled up in one another's wake, making a strong argument to take each individual nonument on its own.
 
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