I.
Got a copy of the new Burning Rome cd, _Whistler's Bombardier_. Gotta
say I really like it. Nice cliky alive pieces. Songs are just the right
length and obviously well thought-out. Outstanding composition. The time
spent on each song is extremely apparent. Slick production. Wonderful use
of all channels and frequencies. Nice diversity from track-to-track but it
all ties in together with a distinct style.
I really dig "Small Sips From The Fountain"... if you take the song
title literally and imagine the sounds being from different insects lapping
up water with their proboscises, then it really works out quite pleasantly.
"The Strength To Be Weak" has this relaxed long lead-up that eventually
works into this very nice dark d&b exoskeleton. Very Witchman or Ambush.
Caustic and downtempo. One of my favorites.
I've subconciously heard the melody from "Sorry We're Closed, Maybe
Next Time" in my head even before I heard this song. Melancolic... it
invokes memories of laying on my bed in high school listening to Herbie
Hancock. Same with "World Wide Cutie vs. Hideous Monkey" except with some
early Art Of Noise and Andrian Sherwood thrown in. Spurts of wick-wackery
pops up every once in awhile.
"We Gather Much Noise Here" is glitch and much experimentation. More
repetitive patterns and focus that most of the stuff I've heard... on let's
say Mego. Would fit in nicely on the Intransitive catalogue. Aptly short
too. Doesn't lose my interest. Other noise/glitch guys need to follow
Mark's lead here.
"Eyewitness" is very minimal. Not the most memorable piece, but I
think that's the point. No build-up or tease factor involved... just
downtempo minimalism all the way through.
"Princess Nozomi" is a fun song although it gets a bit old after
several listens. Very memorable... that's probably my problem with it.
Would fit in nicely with the Possible Records catalogue. One thing about
this track though is the rich dynamics of it's sound. I can swear I hear
doors closing and people moving about in my house. Paranoia inducing...
good use of stereo. I'd like to hear a remix of this one.
"Are You Without Jewelry" creeps me out. Creepy. Disturbing sonics.
Alien landscapes. Pneumatic. Low end throbs. I could've listened to a
full hour of this. The fade-out at the end doesn't work for me though.
Maybe I just wanted to hear more.
I think though that the most exciting songs on this album has got to be
"Teach Me How To Kiss". Absolutely beautiful. Oriental-ish bells chime at
a thoughtful pace (what instrument was this?)... then the big band sound
blares in. Pseudo-jazz follows with little modems breathing and sighing
occasionally. This is soooooo Roger Tubesound. Piano and all. Wow.
"Salad Days" is very overbearing and Fatherland-ish. Beautiful string
arrangement. Short with an uplifting conclusion.
The very last track is the AtomTM remix... "Teach Me How To Kiss
(tubesound remix)". I think it's more of a collaborative effort though?
The liner notes say that the first 1:04 minutes is "remixed by Burning
Rome", while the duration is "remixed by AtomTM". Unfortunately the six
tracks on the CD between this and the previous song, "Salad Days", are
blank! So it comes as quite a scare when this one suddenly pops up with
this kid's lawnmower-type noise starting it off. But then all is forgiven
when the oriental-ish bells chime in... with a bit more depth than on the
original.
It's one of the best Atom remixes I've ever heard. I can hear a lot
of elements throughout that are definitely Mark's but Uwe's really taken
control of it. The remix here is very... Swedish? Like Plod or
Electromagnetic Beam. Nice fat drumwork. I'd like to know more about the
production of this one. The ending works very nicely for me too. Like the
remixing machine was left on too long and it got stuck. Piano and a reel to
reel being scratched like a rekid? Well that's what I hear.
I have to say however that even though this is a great album all the
way through, I think that the picture sleeve for this one is really very
ugly. Yuck. It certainly doen't do this album justice. Too busy and
confusing... and why is there all that text on it? Three distinct ideas
which clash. If it's not too late, change the sleeve design. I like the
stock, but the graphics... ug.
Whistler's Bombardier.
Mad Monkey Records [MMR04/Cathartium 15].
January 23, 2001 (release date).
Mad Monkey Records (label):
http://www.madmonkey.org
Burning Rome (composer):
http://www.burningrome.com
Nu Gruv Alliance (distributor):
http://www.nugruv.com
.`-).
christopher miller o o.'
evil@fdt.net ==
'
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org