His 2001 debut, Far Away Trains Passing By, ushered in a more technocentric message, but Place unleashes the Berlin native's affinity for guitar pop, trip-hop, and ambient compositions. "Gone Forever" begins in a soothing thunderstorm of sounds: whirling synths, cooing vocals, and cathedral organs. "On My Own" follows in grittier fashion, with muted breakbeats, faux horn blares, and a choir of processed howls, exploding into well-layered, fuzzy electro. "Monday-Paracetamol" and "Blumenthal" are dusted, twilight soundscapes welcoming you back from a self-medicated coma. Slowdive's Neil Halstead might've wandered, without looking back, into the folkier comfort of Mojave 3. But Schnauss has capably carried the sonic torch, marrying the dream-world artifice of software-made music with the man-made reverie of his forbears in epic fashion. -- Kiran Aditham