anaphylaxis respite (DAM cd from mp3.com)
this latest from anaphylaxis seems to be continuing in the reverb style, for the most part, and you won't hear me complain. two versions of the title track bookend the cd, first in the form of an edit and then as the full version. both are very nice ethereal pieces based on flowing wordless vocal samples (if i remember correctly lifted from recordings of a famous comtemporary female popstar- you guess which) sounding actually kind of mournful and hopeful at the same time. track two is 'connie francis' based on samples of -you guessed it- connie francis. the samples aren't as processed as on 'respite' but nonetheless are put to much odder effect and give the impression that you are in deep space listening to a radio signal bounced off of three or four different satellites at the same time. 'empath 3: rust' is a straight out noise track, big metallic clunks and watery sounds [metal and water, making rust, see?] followed by 'the last thousand seconds' taken from the album american music, which kind of stands out because of the difference in recording quality- the track opens with a slow piano melody that sounds like it was recorded live at a piano recital with a portable tape recorder. this basic piano bit is put through the paces, cut up reversed and reordered, and throughout the course of sixteen minutes is layered with noisey drones and buzzes, ending up a cloud of scraping buzzy noise like a swarm of hornets. last [minus 'respite,' but i already talked about that] is 'drummer boy,' a rushing  rising sound like a gentle rush of air around the frame of a faulty airplane window just before the crash, with a sound buried in that sounds like the continuous "aaaahhhh" of a choir. a soothing plane ride to a fast and painless death, although i'm probably the only person who'd read that into it... then 'respite.'