Giuseppe Ielasi - Aix

Giuseppe Ielasi
Aix
(01.2009, 12k)
RIYL = clicks, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Shuta Hasunuma, the sound of a drippy faucet

Sassigrass recently notified me (quite rightly) that my reviews are starting to get a little repetitive, filled with lots of definitive statements, “best of” comments and general hyperbole. It is really the mark of writers block. And, to be fair, writing music critiques can become a little monotonous. It is hard not to fall into the same old traps over and over again and reference the same musical lineage time and time again. Fortunately, as I work on transitioning to more meaningful, creative reviews, I have this little gem by Giueseppe Ielasi that is pretty much a compositional study on repetition and how to use it to deftly expand a space to its perfect size. On Aix, Ielasi has transitioned from his previous (and lovely I might add) drone work to a more mechanical, rhythmic style. The sound is similar in a lot of ways to the architecture displayed on the cover of the album. Various rhythmic pulses of synthetic and acoustic varieties are set off like metronomes pulsing within one another to build a structure. Within the structure, rather than making space for furnishings or clutter, there is a relatively spare space, like an empty room. It is within this room that Ielasi performs his subtle magic. As he evolves these little micro-structures created within each track, minute variances in the pulse of the songs fill each room with colour. And I am not talking your basic elementary color wheel, something about the way in which Ielasi has composed these tiny trinkets of sound evokes the most inviting hues which, again, fit quite nicely with that cover photo. All and all, it is a wonderful evolution. Listening to these tiny tracks tinker along, growing and evolving I can’t help but think of the Doozers from Fraggle Rock. You know, those single-minded little puppet architects who build the wonderfully Fragglisish towers? I can’t help but think that this is the type of music that keeps them chugging along – building, building, building to their limitless satisfaction. There is something funny about comparing the relatively intellectual constructions of Ielasi to the creations of Jim Henson, but somehow it works out in my head. Delicious work.

-Lil' Thistle

Giuseppe Ielasi - "09"

Amplifier Machine - Her Mouth Is An Outlaw

Amplifier Machine
Her Mouth Is An Outlaw
(2008, 12K)
Verdict = Post Rock is back!

Remember when Godspeed You Black Emperor! was absolutely the best band in the world and Mogwai still sounded fresh and vibrant? Mmm, yeah, those were some good times. And then remember when Explosions In The Sky briefly resurrected that good old climax heavy instrumentalism and the stars aligned again? Seems like ages since I last remember being excited about some good old fashioned instrumental post rock. Sure, there have been other notables along the way, but I’m talkin’ the transportative, hinging on religious euphoria type stuff. I guess it is pretty obvious why the whole thing fell apart – eventually the excitement of those upward building processions became stale and predictable. I mean, how many times can you rewrite the same exact chord progression culminating with the same exact climax while remaining emotive? Apparently, for only a couple full length albums. It doesn’t mean I don’t miss it though or love revisiting those old classics. However, it is fairly obvious that instrumental post rock needed a savior. You’ll notice the past tense of that last sentence. Enter: Amplifier Machine. Can I say “wow?” I mean whoa; this is some powerful, transportative, higher-level type stuff. Amplifier Machine’s debut album, Her Mouth Is An Outlaw, feels like the missing step in the evolution from Explosions In the Sky to Eluvium, bridging the gap from the structure of post rock to the improvisational space of atmospheric drone. Amplifier Machine maintains a strong skeletal structure but makes space for plenty of inspired deviations from its players, creating some of the most gorgeous ear candy I think I have heard in a long, long time. In addition, on Her Mouth Is An Outlaw, the structure doesn’t perpetually lead to a raucous climax. The album flows beautifully as a whole, slowly snaking along and forging its own unique peaks and valleys in an original, but oddly familiar way. Her Mouth Is An Outlaw is an utterly serendipitous gem of expansive beauty compounded into a tiny plastic disc. I know I have the tendency to get really excited about new music, often overly so, but to overlook this album is to truly miss one of the most amazing things to come out all year – right up there with The Fun Years and Gang Gang Dance. Translation: listen to this album!

-Mr. Thistle

Sawako - Bitter Sweet

Sawako
Bitter Sweet
(05.2008, 12K)
Verdict = A gorgeous soundtrack to forgotten ponds

The last time we heard from Sawako around these parts was on last year’s astoundingly beautiful release under the Anticipate banner, Madoromi. Now after only a brief break Sawako is back, releasing her fourth album, Bitter Sweet, back on the equally wonderful 12K label (also the home of her debut). Despite the label shuffling, Sawako maintains an aural consistency that has moments of both gorgeous relaxation and intelligent tension. The album opens with borderline atonal droning on “Wind Shower Particle” that sounds somewhat metallic with a deeply buried percussive layer that eventually breaks with the emergence of some well placed acoustic notes that sound like a stand up bass played from the basement. The track segues into “April – From Sea Shell” where, with the assistance of Radiosonde, Sawako allows a gorgeous lilting guitar melody to float over the top of her signature field recordings and embedded ambience. The transitions in mood and flow between these two tracks are telling of the entire album which seems bent on a perfect restraint and paced structure that requires a patient ear from its listener. While the ADD among us may find difficulty focusing on these pieces of music, those who give Bitter Sweet an honest effort will be aptly rewarded. Sawako seems to have subtly enhanced her methods this time around as well. Where Madoromi had a bit of a more glitchy electronic component to it, Bitter Sweet seems a bit more polished and smooth. The addition of some more palpably identifiable instrumental motifs also adds to Sawako’s palette. Still, restraint is the key here and the motifs often fade out as quickly as they arrived leaving a powerful ripple throughout her songs. Bitter Sweet is an glowing release by an artist of greatly understated creativity and talent.

-Mr. Thistle

Sawako - April-From Sea Shell (w/ Radiosonde)