Systems/Layers is the final LP by the instrumental group Rachel's. It was released on October 7, 2003, on Quarterstick Records. The album is a collaborative dance/theater piece with the New York ensemble SITI Company.

The album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart.

Reception

Initial critical response to Systems/Layers was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 81, based on 14 reviews. PopMatters called the album "one of the year's finest releases," writing that "its greatest gift ... is its sheer compatibility -- you can take Systems/Layers anywhere and it will speak to you." Exclaim! called it "at once touching and haunted, intimate and disturbingly uncomfortable." The Times deemed it the band's worst album. The East Bay Express labeled it "the soundtrack to your most brilliant, reflective life."

Track listing

1. "Moscow Is in the Telephone" – 3:59

2. "Water from the Same Source" – 6:18

3. "Systems/Layers" – 3:11

4. "Expect Delays" – 3:57

5. "Arterial" – 1:45

6. "Even/Odd" – 3:14

7. "Wouldn't Live Anywhere Else" – 2:47

8. "Esperanza" – 5:32

9. "Packet Switching" – 1:09

10. "Where_Have_All_My_Files_Gone?" – 2:49

11. "Reflective Surfaces" – 2:00

12. "Unclear Channel" – 2:47

13. "Last Things Last" – 3:33

14. "Anytime Soon" – 2:18

15. "Air Conditioning / A Closed Feeling" – 3:39

16. "Singing Bridge" – 2:13

17. "And Keep Smiling" – 2:38

18. "4 or 5 Trees" – 6:04

19. "NY Snow Globe" – 2:28

Personnel

1. Rachel's

2. Kyle Crabtree – drums

3. Christian Frederickson – viola, keyboards

4. Edward Grimes – drums, keyboards

5. Rachel Grimes – piano, keyboards

6. Greg King – films

7. Eve Miller – cello

8. Jason Noble – bass, guitar, drums, toolbelt, keyboards

9. Additional players

10. Matthew Annin – French horn

11. Wendy Doyle – cello

12. Doug Elmore – stand-up bass

13. Jane Halliday – violin

14. Sarah Hill – violin

15. Jamie Holman – viola

16. Karl Olsen – contrabass

17. Marcus Ratzenboeck – violin

18. Jennifer Shackleton – viola

19. Frederick Speck – conductor

20. Scott Staidle – violin

21. Shannon Wright – vocals

22. Tim Zavadil – clarinet

23. SITI Company and their students at Utah State University and Skidmore College – live performances

24. Voices

25. Hibba Abdul-Jabbar

26. Dino Bektasevic

27. Akiko Aizawa

28. Jem Cohen

29. Susan Hightower

30. Libby King

31. Arianna Perez-Rivas

32. Barney O'Hanlon

33. Tara Schoch

34. Stephen Webber ; spoken word

Footnotes