Finally

Carson gave this album on2008-10-08.

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Finally is especially good considering it is Raccoon Fink's first album.

Many of the tracks employ sounds or commonly recognized musical themes to evoke imagery. For instance, "Borneo is Fallen" conjures images of being in a rain forest with insect-like effects. While "A Man Happens Upon a Tribe of Aborigine Carnival Freaks" makes one feel like being in the midst of a circus.

The drum in "Only Creation" is a bit too repetitive and holds it back from getting a higher rating. "Flashing Across the Heavens", on the other hand, is fairly long but does not feel repetitive at all and it's prominent panning makes for an interesting track. The drum and keyboard on "Millennialist" work well together and the subtle additions around the 3:30 mark are a nice touch; however, the song feels a bit too long.

"Devil's Own" is a constantly changing track that holds the listeners' interest and keeps them waiting to find out what's going to happen next. "Monster Song (A Dark and Stormy Night)" - one of two tracks with vocals - has a catchy tune and is likely to get stuck in your head for hours. This brings us to what I consider the strongest song on the album, "Perfect Paranoia"; Raccoon Fink now holds the record for being the first independent artist to obtain a rating of 5 on a track. The use of vocals as an instrument and the subtle stereo effects make this track really stand out.

"Schismatrix" features a strong beat and music that flows smoothly between several changes. Almost classical sounding, "Moone" is a many layered track with great instrumentation. "Invective" is well-composed and the different instruments work exceedingly well together. "A Man Happens Upon a Tribe of Aborigine Carnival Freaks" is kind of frantic feeling; the harpsichord-sounding instrument is audibly pleasing, but it just doesn't seem to work with the rest of the song.

"Phobia" is a great song, but the drums overpowers the rest of the track. We finish on another quality track: "Pointillize". This is a simplistic song with an excellent beat and no extraneous instruments or effects to detract from the ambiance.

No track on the album dips below 3 on the chart, which is impressive even for well-established groups. Overall, the tracks feel like they all belong on the same album - with the possible exception of "A Man Happens Upon a Tribe of Aborigine Carnival Freaks", which sounds more like it belongs in a video game soundtrack than on this album.

It is very rare than a mostly unknown artist has a release of this caliber and even more so as a first release. "Perfect Paranoia" alone makes this album worth listening to.

Track	Name		Carson	Katherine		Track	Name		Carson	Katherine
1	Borneo is Fallen					8	Schismatrix
2	Only Creation					9	Moone
3	Flashing Across the Heavens					10	Invective
4	Millennialist					11	A Man Happens Upon a Tribe of Aborigine Carnival Freaks
5	Devil's Own					12	Phobia
6	Monster Song (A Dark and Stormy Night)					13	Pointillize
7	Perfect Paranoia