This is the first solo full-length by experimental percussionist Will Guthrie, a discreet but increasingly active actor on the young European free improv circuit. Guthrie uses junk, found objects, motor-equipped toys, and (yes) conventional percussion instruments to create rich, multi-layered pieces. He is also credited with electronics, but his approach remains essentially acoustic -- that is to say that despite the electronic treatments, his playing remains percussive, instruments can be isolated, and the listener comes out of this album feeling that he/she has just listened to a musician, in addition to an artist. Some digital looping is more clearly detectable, although it may just be that his motorized contraptions work really well. In any case, Guthrie's sound is refreshing when compared to the main electro-acoustic concerns of most experimental percussionists these days (including Günter Müller, Jason Kahn, or Tomasz Krakowiak). Blanket and Wetspace are 20-minute pieces, while Eleven is much shorter. Part mesmerizing sound art, part impressive performance, Blanket is the clear standout track: here Guthrie explores a wide range of textures and sounds, sculpting a fascinating piece of creative percussionism along the way, showing true artistry in shaping the bizarre. Eleven is a noisier exercise and suffers from a lack of poetic sense. Wetspace features a more metallic sound palette. In this one, motorized contraptions occupy the front stage, bringing to mind Maxime Rioux's automatons or Silent Block's complex automated junk instruments. Guthrie still finds ways to bring some pathos to the mixture, in the guise of gong-like instruments. Building Blocks is a striking debut and, hopefully, will be the calling card Guthrie needs to find a larger audience. ~ François Couture, Rovi