Phil Manley - Life Coach [Thrill Jockey Records - 2011]I listened to much of this recording without realizing Phil Manley was a founding member of the band Trans Am, who I missed out on way back when. This is good since my view of this album won't be colored by any assumptions of post-rock or what it's about. It's a pretty interesting mix of pseudo-Krautrock ambience and John Fahey-style acoustic guitar explorations. The production sounds very much like it could've been produced by Conny Plank -- how Manly managed to do this, I'll never know. Much of this also reminds me of a little known group called Woo, just in how these tracks are constructed in a seemingly disjointed and enigmatic way. But most of all, if you're expecting Trans Am's typical sub-prog-rock material, or post-rock in general, it's not going to be evident here, especially without a full band. Still Manley has me convinced of his musical prowess. This is a very impressive solo album that would make me want to seek out Trans Am's back catalog in the future    Lawrence J. Patti
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