Harold Budd returns with his first solo album in four years and it´s a timely reminder of how potent this pianist´s ambient orchestrations remain. Although Budd himself would never use the term "ambient," he´ll be forever tarred with that brush, having released The Plateaux of Mirror, one of Brian Eno´s Ambient Music series in the 1970s. Budd´s brand of ambience is full of ambiguity, hidden shadows, and dark corners. Based on themes from his last great album, 1988´s The White Arcades, each piece on The Room is a miniature in mood. Dark organ drones underscore the time-stepping piano theme of "The Room of Ancillary Dreams." Another organ drone, along with cascading synthesizer bell swirls and the plucked, vibelike tones of a Fender Rhodes, establish an eerie desolation on "The Room of Stairs." Budd doesn´t make happy music, but it has the poignant beauty of the last leaves of autumn.