Matteo "Hue" Uggeri is a man of many talents. I first heard some tracks from his In A Voice project that sounded like it would be right at home on the Hyperium "Heavenly Voices" compilations or on Projekt records. Sparkle in Grey takes a different approach and I had to listen to this disc several times before figuring out just what to say about it. According to the label, "The six tracks on this debut album have started off as improvisations on an electronic base, and have later developed throughout live shows in Italy and abroad in squats, clubs, diners, music festivals in the woods and in a kindergarden." The improvisational aspect is certainly present and accounted for (and I would love to see them perform at a kindergarten show). I tend to think of projects in terms of who they remind me of and the only comparison that I could come up with was Nature and Organisation’s "A Dozen Summers Against the World." I made my wife listen to it, who finds Nature and Organisation the only palatable offering from any of the World Serpent catalogue and she also thought that that A Quiet Place was quite nice. All of that to say that this album may be improvisational but it is still very accessible. The various tracks incorporate samples of spoken word, guitar, violin, and field recordings to create interesting soundscapes that at times fade into the background and surface in ways that are not too invasive. Let’s look at some of the more interesting tracks more closely. I especially like the narrative at the beginning of "Limpronta" that notes, "My theory is that if you don’t bring it with you (into the studio) you’ll definitely need it." This track is a bit more free form with some noisy elements thrown in as punctuation until it gains more structure with guitar and violin creating an almost mournful melody. "Goose Game" begins as a study in repetition but then settles into a nice groove with electric guitar dominating. This one kind of grew on me after a few listens. "Teacher Song" would be right at home as an interlude on one of Current 93’s neo-folk albums like "Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre." Overall, you get the sense that this would be a great band to see perform live. The cartoonish drawings (done by Hue) on the cover and liner notes demonstrate that this is not an in-your-face kind of experimental album. Overall, the feeling is quite calm and restrained. If you’re looking for improvisation that seems almost peaceful, this is very well done. This disc weighs in at 46 minutes.