Styrofoam’s Arne Van Petegem has made a career of mixing electronic music with indie-rock. A Thousand Words, the sixth album from the Belgium native, continues the quest for perfect amalgamation in 11 tracks that blur genre distinction in the best possible way. Van Petegem’s work here melds perfectly melodic tunes with electronic soundscapes that accentuate the songs with such warmth that the listener almost forgets the backdrop does not consist solely of fingers on strings. To add to Van Petegem’s indie cred, which already includes remix work with bands like The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie, the album features guest vocalists including Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins, The Submarines’ Blake Hazard, and singer-songwriter Josh Rouse. Yet throughout, it is Van Petegem’s voice and vision that come through most strongly. If Van Petegem was looking for the perfect mix of electronica and indie-rock, his musical search was an unqualified success.
--Frank Valish [August 26, 2008]
