Tagged: Drone
Lawrence English – Cruel Optimism
I’ve been listening to a lot of drone/ambient/modern composition and the like over the past few years but have seldom written about it. I find it hard to quite capture what’s going on in these abstract pieces. If writing about music is dancing about architecture (and cheers Zappa for sewing that seed of doubt in every music writer’s mind) then writing about abstract pieces is like trying to describe alien structures of non-Euclidean geometry whilst on too much acid to ascertain which limb is which.
Or at least it is for me. Maybe I just feel uncormtable describing anything I can’t overuse the word ‘riff’ for.
Anyhow. I had a go at reviewing the latest work from Lawrence English. i very much like it, something which I hope comes through in this unappetising word salad.
Review, as ever, over at Echoes and Dust.
Endless Floods – II
New year, new reviews of intimidatingly long, unbearably anguished doom records. Endless Floods, of Bordeuax, France, slow down and stretch out their songs to the point their heaviness almost becomes ambience. They’re one of the most interesting bands operating in the genre at the moment and despite utilising familiar tools and riffs their latest is something pretty unique.
Khünnt – Failures
It’s been a bit quiet on here of late. Apparently buying and moving into a house is quite time consuming and stressful. Who knew? I feel bad for leaving Kenzo Kelly’s Heroes in limbo for so long, but what can I do? Not spend my scraps of free time putting 30-odd hours into Dark Souls 3? I don’t think that was ever an option.
I’ve had little time to invest in flinging words at music either. But I made some time to attempt to describe the 40 minute nightmare dirge that is Khünnt’s Failures. It’s quite the experience – I don’t think I did it justice. I’m just not good enough at this writing business to make reading my prose feel like being abducted and tortured by some surrealist distortion-wielding terror cell.
Review over at Echoes & Dust.
Haikai No Ku – Temporary Infinity
Bong’s Mike Vest is a busy man. Haikai No Ku’s third record Temporary Infinity is the first he’s involved in released in 2016 – there’ll be a good few more by the end of the year. If there are any better then I can’t wait to hear them. However if there are any more dense and frightening then I’ll need to psych myself up a bit first.
