Skeleton Crew Quarterly, February 2011
"There’s language to be interpreted on Near the Parenthesis’ new full-length, but it’s neither Japanese nor Tim Arndt’s native tongue of English. After several listens, what initially unfurled as elegant piano progressions, chiming and lamenting over beds of delicate electronics, transforms into Arndt’s ivory-key vocabulary; capable of circling a situation, describing its backdrop, and echoing the listener’s sentiments. Japanese For Beginners’ focus on piano becomes a mere subtext as the flurry of language over these nine compositions amass, with somber and hopeful melodies, into a forty-five minute web of reflective vignettes. Rarely does a record’s uniformity remain this engaging throughout. With similar gears – piano, a variety of ambient keys and a throbbing patchwork of nestled beats – at work beneath each piece, Near the Parenthesis encourages strong melodic passages to persevere impulsively placed notes which tense and redefine its motivations. Alongside some of his most overtly electronic landscapes to date, Arndt’s pieces never settle, often tying emotional weight into a shuffling, nomadic desire to move forward. With each song modulating another catalyst for the record’s changing emotional state, highlights distinguish themselves regularly: ‘Soft Warmly Straw Raincoat’ delivers an hypnotic back-beat as evocative as the fine imagery of its title, ‘Voice and Radio Bureau’ welcomes some Rounds-era glitchiness, then ‘The Rose and Burial’ steps back into some Arovane-esque electronic solitude. Okay, those “highlights” listed are actually just the first three tracks, and their effectiveness will largely depend on each listener’s capacity for stylish, unobtrusive electronica. There’s room to argue Japanese For Beginners’ charms as overly pretty, but to dismiss the record on such grounds would be overlooking Arndt’s concentrated ability to score emotional moods with a refined palette. Making the most of monotony, Near the Parenthesis has crafted the first great electronic record of 2011."
Textura, March 2011
"Tim Arndt's fifth Near The Parenthesis outing (his fourth for n5MD) is perhaps as accessible as so-called electronic music gets, as Japanese For Beginners packs nine four-minute melodic IDM-oriented pieces into a fat-free, forty-three-minute collection. Bringing a painterly sensibility to the material, Arndt creates texturally rich, multi-layered tapestries typically populated with piano melodies at the forefront and intricate beat programming behind, with all of it augmented with liberal doses of synthetic and electronic design. What results are less conventional compositions that move through narrative episodes of development, climax, and resolution than serenading dreamscapes of uniform mood. Enhancing the music's entrancing effect is Arndt's decision to have each piece flow seamlessly into the next, a move that allows the album to be experienced as a scene-shifting whole rather than as one filled with distinct tracks. “Soft Warmly Straw Raincoat” establishes the template with a rich electronic sound-world filled with pretty piano-based sparkle and downtempo hip-hop beats. “Voice and Radio Bureau” augments delicate field of wistful piano playing and radiant electronic atmosphere with insistent rhythm underpinning, while “In Regard to Water” shimmers beatifically, with the keyboards melding into a mesmerizing sound-field and skittish drumming keeping up a soft burble behind. Classical piano playing lends “The Listening Surround” an appealing serenity, and similar classical flavouring emerges in many another track too. Japanese For Beginners doesn't represent a radical new phase in the Near The Parenthesis saga (even if it's clearly more electronic-oriented than 2010's Music for the Forest Concourse), but that need not be construed as criticism as the collection can be heard as a consolidation of the project's strengths. Since issuing Near The Parenthesis material since 2006, the San Francisco-based producer has refined the craft involved in his productions to the level of art, as everything fits together seamlessly and with a satisfying degree of balance, even when there is a large number of sounds in play at any given moment."
Autres Directions (France), March 2011
"Cela pourrait n’être qu’un énième album parmi les nombreuses productions actuelles cataloguées au rayon IDM / néo-classique – de surcroit affublé d’une pochette particulièrement affreuse. Le cinquième album depuis 2006 du prolifique Near The Parenthesis s’inscrit d’ailleurs dans la stricte continuité de son prédécesseur, Music For The Forest Concourse. Mais dans ce registre musical, tout se joue dans le détail. Au-delà de l’attention apportée à chacune des compositions, c’est la conception de l’ensemble, l’agencement des pièces instrumentales entre elles, qui permet à Japanese For Beginners de prendre de l’ampleur. Avec les mêmes ingrédients qu’à l’accoutumée (des machines et une bonne maitrise de quelques logiciels de traitement de son), la musique imaginée en solitaire par Tim Arndt gagne en élégance et en sensibilité. Le résident de San Francisco produit sur ces neuf nouvelles compositions un remarquable travail sur les programmations rythmiques, dépassant le carcan imposé par les machines. Chaque morceau fourmille de mille et un détails donnant de la profondeur, voire même une certaine chaleur, pour que s’épanouissent les motifs hautement émotifs joués au piano ou au synthétiseur. L’album donne matière au vagabondage de l’esprit, quand on peut autant se focaliser sur un crépitement lointain que se laisser emporter dans un tourbillon ascensionnel. Dans ces moments propices à la rêverie, Near The Parenthesis œuvre dans le même registre que The Album Leaf, développant une belle capacité à circonscrire l’emportement des sentiments."
De:Bug, March 2011
"Unermütlich und wieder ganz und gar wunderbar schleift sich Tim Arndt durch seine durch und durch tief melancholische Musik, und wir, wir können einfach nur dankbar dafür sein. Vollkommen egal, ob es an einigen Stellen ins Kitschige abrutscht. Soll ja Leute geben, die das kritisch sehen. Aber selbst die werden nicht umhin kommen, mit einem versteckten Seufzer Sympathie zu signalisieren. Nur gang kurz. Heimlich, still und leise. Über “Japanese For Beginners” schwebt eine Schicht kratziger Noise, die immer dann vom Piano weggewischt wird, wenn der Track es benötigt. Dann tritt das Feedback in die zweite Reihe, überlässt den Melodien und Beats den Vortritt und dreht weiter, nur leiser, an seiner kleinen Drehorgel, die uns an die technologische Grundlage dieser tollen Musik erinnert. Erst der Funkensprung auf dem Schaltkreis lässt uns große Augen machen. Near The Parenthesis sprüht wie ein Nordlicht."
[Sic] Magazine, April 2011
"Near The Parenthesis is one of those artists who is well known and highly regarded within certain circles, yet unknown within others. His consistency has secured a permanent berth at genre ‘centre of excellence’, n5MD but for those only just discovering his music Near The Parenthesis may fall into the category of ‘Top quality artist that I need to have something by – but I’m unsure of which release to go for’. Blended key and piano arpeggios are signature Near The Parenthesis (Whose real name is Tim Arndt) The effect is like being showered in music. Big, splashy drops of loveliness fall upon the listener like summer rain. Albums tend to evolve in a naturalistic fashion. Actually Near The Parenthesis would make a perfect accompaniment to a nature documentary. It would have to a quality film though – something by BBC or Discovery. This music develops with dignity, restrained growth, ebbing and flowing, that kind of thing. No great overtures or explosive climaxing. All very agreeable. Sometimes tracks meander. Sometimes you aren’t quite aware that you crossed over to a different piece. I love it. The difference with Japanese for Beginners, slight though it may be, is in the programming. Things are a little more IDM now. Beats are more purposeful. The air crackles with electricity and it’s clear something mechanical is walking this forest. Take a piece like ‘In Regard To Water’ and you hear all manner of influences from labelmate/friend Arc Lab all the way back to Harold Budd. Near The Parenthesis will get the “samey” accusation thrown his way, of that there is no doubt. But one persons ‘repetitive’ is anothers ‘consistent’. Like the best of ambient, the real ambient, Near The Parenthesis isn’t background music at all. Anyone with a tendancy to switch off or disengage ought to rethink or avoid becaue I really don’t think this is oriented towards that. Japanese for Beginners to me is contemplative. It strikes my mind that it is about hope rather than despair, despite its air of melancholy. It’s a trickle effect, sure, but hey, canyons were forged that way. Not sure which release to go for? Try this one."