United Waters - Your First Ever River

(Arbitrary Signs, 2011)

Mouthus is among the more interesting and dynamic (and best) of our avant gardists (American or otherwise) so it's no surprise that Brian Sullivan's (Brian Sullivan being 1/2 of Mouthus) United Waters project is similarly compelling.  I remember a few years ago being taken aback by Sullivan's voice as it first emerged from the bristly cantankerous sound clutter Mouthus has been dealing in for years.  A deep, soothing voice that sounded almost shamanistic juxtaposing against the industrial muck.  That moment on Saw A Halo is still among my favourites from the Mouthus discography.  United Waters sees Sullivan continuing forward with that songwriting path, lending his voice to a shadowy mix of toppling DIY electronics.  Your First Ever River is not so divisively caustic as your standard Mouthus record, but still, Sullivan maintains a minor destructiveness in his aesthetic here with various moments that feel like an old swaying house on the verge of collapse.  Elsewhere, things are distinctively (to this listener) liquid, as if you are indeed floating down a first Godly attempt at river-making, the water filled with mud-clots and oils of various kinds, but still somehow inherently beautiful.  There is a beautiful chaos here that is quite unique to Sullivan and one well worth experiencing if for nothing else than to hear a truly distinctive artist. But rest assured, this is more than simply unique.

United Waters - "Platetectonics"