2005-05-06 02:26:44神經病
Accelera Deck (CD REVIEW)
The Scarcelight imprint was initially launched in 2001 by Chris Jeely of Accelera Deck as a home for his own releases, but that mandate has expanded in the last year or so as Jeely has invited artists and friends from around the world to release work on the label. While the formats of these releases have varied from ultra-limited CDRs in photocopied packaging to pressed CDs in full-color sleeves, Jeely's curation has given the label a sense of continuity and consistency, even despite the disparate styles that have been represented in the catalog so far. These three EPs serve as a perfect example of the eclectic nature of the Scarcelight aesthetic - and one must assume, of Jeely's tastes as well.
On Accelera Deck's Sunstrings, Jeely stretches the traditional definition of an EP by offering almost 50 minutes of music on the disc (although in his defense, the final track is untitled and unlisted, and without it there is only 30 minutes of sound). The opening track, "Dross", is 17+ minutes of fractured tones and noise-bursts that range from subtle to speaker-shredding. It is a difficult listen that could probably do with some editing, but there are a couple of intriguing moments amongst the chaos. The title track follows, and it quickly wipes away the unease engendered by "Dross" with its lush and enveloping wall of guitar reverberations and feedback hum. The final listed track, "777", is just a few glitchy seconds of nondescript sound that serves to not only close off the release proper, but also to introduce the bonus track, which is an uneven experiment in silence vs. sound that will likely tax the patience of many listeners.
Less trying on the ol' eardrums is the release by Washington duo EBSK, a name presumably derived from the initials of Eric Burns, who plays bass guitar and clarinet, and the Casio SK-1 and SK-5 that are manipulated by John Rickman. Over the course of the two titular tracks on this 15 minute CD3", the pair throws together bits of post-rock, krautrock, dub, and lo-fi ambience into a chilled-out stew of sound. The generally relaxed and organic vibe of this EP sits in stark contrast to Evol's Punani Shell, which features a single 22-minute track of unrelenting digital fuckery that is mysteriously described on the label's website as "hard-edged chinchilla audio". As with the more abstract moments of the Accelera Deck disc, this is not a record meant for casual or background listening, but if you have the fortitude to follow the back cover suggestion to "Play Loud!!!!," you just might discover some bits of beauty amongst Evol's cold and mathematical machine music.
On Accelera Deck's Sunstrings, Jeely stretches the traditional definition of an EP by offering almost 50 minutes of music on the disc (although in his defense, the final track is untitled and unlisted, and without it there is only 30 minutes of sound). The opening track, "Dross", is 17+ minutes of fractured tones and noise-bursts that range from subtle to speaker-shredding. It is a difficult listen that could probably do with some editing, but there are a couple of intriguing moments amongst the chaos. The title track follows, and it quickly wipes away the unease engendered by "Dross" with its lush and enveloping wall of guitar reverberations and feedback hum. The final listed track, "777", is just a few glitchy seconds of nondescript sound that serves to not only close off the release proper, but also to introduce the bonus track, which is an uneven experiment in silence vs. sound that will likely tax the patience of many listeners.
Less trying on the ol' eardrums is the release by Washington duo EBSK, a name presumably derived from the initials of Eric Burns, who plays bass guitar and clarinet, and the Casio SK-1 and SK-5 that are manipulated by John Rickman. Over the course of the two titular tracks on this 15 minute CD3", the pair throws together bits of post-rock, krautrock, dub, and lo-fi ambience into a chilled-out stew of sound. The generally relaxed and organic vibe of this EP sits in stark contrast to Evol's Punani Shell, which features a single 22-minute track of unrelenting digital fuckery that is mysteriously described on the label's website as "hard-edged chinchilla audio". As with the more abstract moments of the Accelera Deck disc, this is not a record meant for casual or background listening, but if you have the fortitude to follow the back cover suggestion to "Play Loud!!!!," you just might discover some bits of beauty amongst Evol's cold and mathematical machine music.