Published by James April 16th, 2007
in Album, Review and 2007.
There was a time when I was deep into Ambient–thanks to an introduction to the genre via Future Sound of London, Aphex Twin, Thom Brennan, and Robert Rich–but had drifted away from the genre in the past years for one reason or another. Recently, I picked up Stars of the Lid on a complete lark, partly because of the positive word of mouth and partly because I was thirsty for something new and and Their Refinement of the Decline deserves the praise that it is receiving as well as more than quenched my thirst for new sounds while renewing my interest in Ambient.
Reviewing Ambient albums is a challenge. What do you focus on? Most of the work in the genre is slow building and often very abstract with tempos measured in minutes and key changes that occur almost imperceptibly. Pieces are designed around textures and moods with the aim of conveying a particular state of mind. While most Ambient works are developed using purely electronic means, and Their Refinement of the Decline is built upon symphonic instrumentation there is the use of a brass section, soft strings, and even some choral fragments all of which lend it a warm human quality and is reminiscent of the more exotic leaning Temple Of The Invisible which made heavy use of human performed instruments.
Much of the album drifts by like a soundtrack for a non-existent film (”Apreludes (in C sharp major)” has every feeling of dropped into the middle of a planetarium show). It is lush and unobtrusive and is best listened to when your mind is calm and when you have two hours free to be gently carried from beginning to end. This is a perfect example of headphone music as the work envelopes you, softly wrapping threads of sound that caress and coax. Throw it on your favorite player and take a walk outside, rain or shine, woods or scrap yard, it doesn’tt matter as the album will provide a theme for almost any environment.
You can sample some the album over at their Myspace page, including “Apreludes (in C sharp major)” which has an accompanying video. Beautiful and highly recommend.
Published by James December 13th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
All Is Fair is a meditative album. It slowly stretches, winding its way through folk forms from nearly every continent while managing to fold in elements of Jazz, Rock, and the Western Classical tradition all of which results in a fine example of Fusion. If you are a fan of Kronos Quartet, and in particular their trance-like work Night Prayers, then you might find yourself drawn to the work on here as it possesses many of the same qualities though approaching them from different angle as Gojogo blend together upright bass, violin, tablas, with various brass and woodwinds to create a sometimes dark yet warm tapestry of sound.
“All Is Fair In Love and War”, nestled near the middle of the album and by far one of my favorite songs on the album, shows the group shaking loose the somnolent work of the prior tracks in the opening bars with a rhythm section built upon an angular tabla line and flanked by a very aggressive staccato violin and bass. Layered on top of it is a slightly restrained guitar line that growls and paces like a caged cat growing more pensive as the piece moves forward. At the midpoint it all crashes, falling on top of itself, and out of it emerges a plaintive melody on trumpet carried by soft woodwinds. Gojogo, in this track, demonstrates a keen ability to construct a narrative through the composition and choices in arrangement. Conversely, “Taal Mama”, which you can stream over at Myspace, is likely one of their more Trance-like pieces as it built around a cluster of simple rhythms and melodies that ensemble makes use of to hang variations on themes. It is understated but very enjoyable at the same.
All Is Fair is a breath of fresh air as it seamlessly blends together so many disparate musical traditions capturing the Trance elements of Modal Jazz and Abstract Electronic with Folk forms of Africa, Europe, and the Americas while maintaining a sense of urgency often found in Rock. It makes for a compelling listen and I highly recommend it. All Is Fair is one of my picks for Best of 2006.
Published by Scott May 24th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
On Monster of the Absolute, Detroit three-piece Paik plays atmospheric instrumentals draped in murky sheets of feedback and distortion. Their music has a contradictory feel to it, cold and distant but couched in warm shoegaze drones. It’s an intriguing combination that makes for an interesting listen.
“Phantoms,” the first song after a brief intro, has a wall of gauzy intensity tempered by a rock groove that doesn’t quite come across successfully. An uninspired repetitive bass riff leads to nowhere and the whole thing comes across as a jam that falls flat. Too bad the band chose that song as the first full track because the rest of the album is much better.
“Snake Face” treads similar ground but does so far more effectively. It kicks off with a driving bass line over which the guitarist’s strings get a full whammy workout. After a few minutes there’s a chord shift that ratchets up the tension and leads to a wicked complementary bass/guitar riff payoff. That they don’t dwell on the moment somehow makes it all the more satisfying.
The last three songs (not counting the outro) mostly ditch the rock grooves in favor of ambience. Paik is truly great at conjuring up swirls of beautiful noise. “October” could provide the perfect soundtrack for a ride aboard an orbiting space shuttle as it hurtles in free fall around the earth. And “Countessa” is an impressionistic wash of mellow feedback and gentle droning. Sandwiched between those is the nearly ten minute title track that intensifies gradually as it weaves a trippy hypnotic spell consisting of pounding rhythms and squalls of feedback.
Disregarding the pointless intro and outro, there are only five tracks on the album. Toss out “Phantom” and you’re left with a strong four song EP. But even in its entirety Monster of the Absolute is a decent album sure to fulfill the needs of shoegaze and space rock fans.
Published by Scott May 17th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
Mono are a Japanese post-rock instrumental band whose epic songs follow the familiar trajectory of quiet gradually building to a distorted roar. Think Mogwai with double to triple the average song length. That description nails their essence but fails to do them justice. Mono are truly masters at creating beautiful, intensely moody music.
Take, for example, one of You Are There’s stunners, “The Yearning.” It starts out with two guitars playing melodies so stark they’re more suggestive than substantial. Things get a little meatier with some soft, melancholy strumming. Cymbals and an occasional pair of thudding drums slowly add to the mix. The volume increases over minor chords that threaten to gently tug your heart right from your chest until echo laden staccato notes send everything soaring into the tumultuous thunderclouds of distortion that have been steadily gathering overhead. There’s a sudden lull before a mighty rock eruption that might be described as giants smashing down a forest with boulders while being struck by lightning and swarmed by bees. After much destruction the giants, bees, and, uh, lightning tire themselves out and stagger to a rest. Mixed metaphors aside, “The Yearning” is pretty typical of the kind of music Mono composes.
You Are There, like Mono’s other work, is not for the casual listener. It demands patience and rewards undivided attention. It doesn’t work well as background music because without concentration the spare, quiet passages tend to lose interest. And since the longer songs build momentum as they progress, this makes the tail ends of the crescendos all the more jarring. Adventurous music fans willing to give You Are There full consideration though, even on a scattershot song by song basis, will travel on some remarkable sonic journeys.
Published by Scott April 17th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
It may be a tad too early to declare the summer album, but Desert Ocean may well fit the bill for me. It certainly is warming up in Georgia anyway. The weekend’s highs were in the upper 80’s, so really not that far off from feeling like summer. At the very least, this would be a fantastic summer road trip album. And with song titles like “Venture,” “Summer Break,” and “Cross Country,” Lanterna’s main man Henry Frayne must have had a similar frame of mind. These songs all have an early morning, striking out on multiple hundred miles of road feel to them. Bright sounding guitar-based instrumentals, they each manage to retain a sort of quiet solitude. I can easily visualize eating up close to an hour’s worth of highway with this playing while my traveling companions doze off drooling behind and to the side of me. But then again, with gas prices soaring, I will say Desert Ocean also works pretty well with the sun shining brightly through the window while folding laundry too.
