The Answer Is In The Beat

Rabbit’s Eye: The Damage Was Terrific (FPE, 2022)

August 27, 2022 at 2:31 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

This album documents a live improvisation by Greek quartet Rabbit’s Eye shortly after they formed in 2018. Much of it is sparse and sporadic, but still a bit nervy, and the musicians will break into a more pointed, alarmed convergence of sounds at a moment’s notice. “Secret Spell” has a somnambulant feel and pace before it coalesces into a sort of loose march. Then “Circus Dance” is a more chaotic, stop-start flurry of rushing drums, delicately scraped yet caustic violin, crunches of guitar feedback, and haunted vocals interpreting all of these currents and vibrations. “Seven Turns at Midnight” is the longest piece and it leads itself down a haunted procession, like some sort of detached Jandekian free jazz. “Of Dark Corners” starts with percussive rolling and ticking, which seems to function like a book of matches being struck, as it gradually stokes into a bonfire of sound. A lot of the other, shorter tracks are a lot more subtle, and don’t feel as much like events, but rather connective sequences. Seeing this in person might’ve been an intense, heart-racing experience. As an album, it requires much patience, but if you’re in the right mood, it can be trasportive.

John King & String Noise: Centripetal Light (Gold Bolus, 2022)

August 23, 2022 at 7:44 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

String Noise is an entirely appropriate project name, not because the musicians (violinists Conrad Harris and Pauline Kim Harris) are attempting to make harsh noise, but because their compositions, which explore different techniques based on chance as well as determinate forms, embrace dissonance and clashing dynamics. “Centripetal Light” features arrangements of three simultaneously played pitches, often arriving at glorious, hair-raising clashes. The somewhat more Kronos-like “Triple Threat” is more of a structured improvisation, culminating in busier sections where the violins seem to be chasing each other around the room. “Klepsydra I” organizes rhythms, durations, dynamics, and timbres by chance, and it ends up being the quietest, least intrusive piece of the four, yet it’s still too eerie to slip away into the background, unnoticed. “Triple Helix” is an electronically treated piece containing chance-determined electronic alterations of the composed acoustic sections. This, of course, helps the music move in different sonic dimensions, adding more of a digital crush and 3D spatialization, sometimes adding barbed distortion or making the sounds closer to a didgeridoo. It lasts for 20 minutes and doesn’t particularly have a clear beginning or end, just sort of fizzling out as if it’s about to segue to another section, so it feels a bit more like a generative experiment than a performance, but it’s essentially both, and it might be String Noise at their most adventurous.

Luis: 057 (Schwyn) (AD 93, 2022)

August 18, 2022 at 9:08 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Returning to his long-abandoned Luis alias, DJ Python channels his IDM and breakbeat influences on this swell EP for AD 93. Opening track “timmy chalamet” (with Lis Dalton) is a dead ringer for Boards of Canada, except the kids sound more sinister. “or anyone said it” is reminiscent of ’90s intelligent techno, with broken beat patterns and floating, eerie melodies. After the brief ambient cloud drift “yoonito”, “we still or nah” has similarly light, detached melodies over a slipshod garage beat. “jack anderson” is just absolutely blissful ambient breakbeat rave, it simply takes you to another place. So gorgeous.

Fausten: Mercenary (Acroplane, 2022)

August 16, 2022 at 7:34 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Former Ad Noiseam act Fausten returns with a new EP of steel-plated industrial sound sculptures. “Cathedral” deviates from the beat structures, instead taking a frightening, queasy detour through a suspicious stretch of a forest. “Jour De Gloire” is a vast, lumbering robo-beast constantly on the reload. “Mercenary” is hard yet finely pointed, with the “pop” sounds at the end of some of the bars setting it over the top. With heavy Scorn vibes throughout, the EP ends appropriately with a rework by Fret, one of Mick Harris’ other projects, mixing thudding post-Aphex beats with heavy waves of industrial dread.

Kloke: Cosmik Connection Vol​.​ 2 (Unknown to the Unknown, 2022)

August 11, 2022 at 8:48 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Unknown to the Unknown recently started a series of atmospheric jungle records, and following Tommy the Cat’s first volume, Australian producer Kloke steps up. He’s released music on Coco Bryce and Tim Reaper’s labels, and this is easily up to their quality level. “Crystal Caves” has holographic synth swells, but also pummeling breaks at just the right moments. “All Around” is a more reflective, filter-breaky tune that revolves around your mind and practically beckons you to stop and look around without actually sampling that Ferris Bueller quote. “Dreams” is a more Timeless-style percussive storm, with a lovely rinse-out. Finally, “Rhythm Equation” sparkles and glides without kicking into overdrive.

Michael Orenstein: Aperture (Origin Records, 2022)

July 30, 2022 at 10:35 am | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Pianist Michael Orenstein named his new album Aperture for the way he filters and processes his influences through his own lens. He covers John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock and pays tribute to Manuel Valera, and also points to Billy Childs as a major inspiration. There’s plenty to enjoy on here, particularly “Not Today”, which is busy and vibrant. “Slow Coffee” is also pretty exciting, with lots of complex drumming yet a relaxed sense of confidence which makes it go down easily. The “Giant Steps” cover and Herbie medley are lovely. Not a whole lot to say beyond that, just a solid jazz album.

Iceberg: Final Thaw (Astral Spirits, 2022)

July 29, 2022 at 5:55 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Guitarist John Kolodij teams up with both members of Baldi/Gerycz Duo (who are also in Cloud Nothings) for this short album of side-long tracks which seem unassuming at first, but reward patient listeners who stick around past the slow beginnings. “God Moves on the Water” is distant and glacial for a while, until all of a sudden the three musicians are stripping paint off the walls with explosive, warp-speed drumming and scorching guitar and sax firepower. “Harland Wolff Blues” is a far more meditative, almost plaintive piece at its inception, giving more time to Baldi’s nuanced saxophone strokes. Just as he starts getting gruffer and reedier, the guitars heat up and the drums start rumbling, and then it’s caught fire and detonated. Kolodij’s feedback is an absolutely manic scree, yet Baldi’s melodic wailing cuts a guiding light through the brain-fog. The way it melts down at the end is a nice touch.