Excerpt: “Willenbring peppers his discreet, minimalist compositions with deliberate and interloping melodic accents that promotes active listening but without obligation…Breadth and depth are supplied by adding and subtracting layers of vibrant tonal swells in periodic waves, often times forming shadowy soundtracks to mysterious worlds but just as often providing a serene, hypnotic and majestic soundscape suitable for daydreaming. Close, But Not Too Close entertains in stellar fashion with hauntingly beautiful atmospheric compositions that should please fans of ambient music.”

Adequacy.net

Excerpt: “While you could daub it with the ambient tag, Close But Not Too Close is more than just a collection of cosmic drone, although that certainly plays a part. The eight tracks have varied instrumentation, with moods varying from the introspective to the cosmic. The pace is uniformly glacial which may be why it takes a few listens for the subtleties to reveal themselves. Gentle acoustic guitar, stark piano, mellotron generated flute effects, and spaced-out organ all make their contributions.”

Music, Musings and Miscellany

Excerpt: “Amazing… Willenbring’s got this quality of creating perfect moods and clever atmospheres. The dreamscapes, or musical paintings created by Wes Willenbring are truly spellbinding beauties. The almost perfect soundtrack to long, cold, dark winter nights. Close, But Not Too Close is ghost music. At least it’s a little bit haunted.”

Luna Kafe

Excerpt: “Each piece is built on Willenbring’s very calm playing on guitar and piano, but these more tactile melodic elements soon evaporate into rising tides of thick, gentle, sometimes atonal drones. It’s quite like discovering you’re on a very small boat that someone has pushed out to sea while you were napping. Whichever song is playing, you’ll awake to a new, intriguing and oddly beautiful landscape that’s both familiar and just slightly unusual. And you can’t stop looking at it. Put Somewhere, Someone Else on repeat, sit in the dark—or, more appropriately, in the light of single flickering candle—and just allow Willenbring to take you along for the ride. Start to finish, this suite of minimalist tone-poems will not only give you reason to think, it will give you many reasons to listen again.”

Hypnagogue