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Direction: Chicago
Directions in Music - Bundy K
Brown, Doug Scharin and James Warden. Thrill
Jockey Thrill33
Not a promising title
you have to agree. It sounds ominously pretentious. It's
also a slice of Chicago, home of the post-rock brethren - the prog rock
of the Nineties.
After getting that off
my chest on to the music. Well, first like take a name check.
Bundy K Brown is a one time, short lived member, of ace Chicago
post-rockers Tortoise. He's also the whizz behind one of the
tracks of the last decade - a remix of several Aerial M tracks
seamlessly patched and sewn together. (Check out Post Global
Music.) The title is too long to repeat, suffice to say it's a
collage of several already excellent pieces. It's a favourite
driving to and from work. Then there's Doug Scharin, he of June of
44. You probably remember that Anahata by the Louisville
group was a fave of mine from '99. Don't know Warden, but I
understand he's a vet of the indie scene. This is by no means a
recent release. It came out in 1996, but it's only now I've got
hold of it thanks to a bumper order from the good Thrill Jockey.
Right: now the music.
There are eight tracks here. My cd unhelpfully comes with no track
listing. All I got was a clear plastic jewel case (with the jewel
broken) and the insert reproduced here. So, I've got no titles to
work on. Stylistically, we ARE talking Chicago post-rock. So
it's quite reminiscent of Tortoise, but perhaps without the reprocessed
feel of TNT. Layers of sound; dub feel; heavy thrumming
bass; strident percussion; random electronic spiky bits. But, at
the same time I detect the pop sensibilities of Sea and Cake and the
accessible side of Gastr del Sol (Camofleur).
Track one chugs along
nicely but tempts you with the presage something, well not quite
sure what. It's gonna burst out isn't it. There you go a
fuzzed out guitar line and the impending wave never quite breaks, but
it's a pleasant confection.
On track 2, we get a
complex stutter beat, distorted drone guitar and repetitive bass figure.
This is one mean 6" post-rock slab.
DIMs tour de force is
the third selection which starts with a false start tease. On the
restart it launches into an archetypal post rock drone featuring the
steady build up of circular figures, delicate layers of guitar and bass
lines driven by an incessant off-beat hi-hat drum. At given
moments through this construction emerges shards of another
transient melody. Finally at the crescendo we're into distorted
feedback. It all collapses in a heap in the corner. A shoe
gazers delight!
Next up is a shimmery
guitar solo leading to a Sea and Cake influenced lyrical pop-like jangly
tune. Typical of S&C there's understated guitar leads and
noodling bass. Track 5 is another wodge in much the same oeuvre.
A change of pace in
track 6: dark corners of the attic synth bits all swirling about your
head until a plaintive acoustic guitar picks out the main theme as a
sort of coda.
Into track 7 which is
classic Tortoise - complicated riff, repeated and turned inside out in
the bass register; drone backing, rock steady drums. Enter
distortion.
And then it's on to the
final track which is a simple John Fahey-esque solo guitar - alt country
meets urban sensitivities.
Why review this odd
flotsam? Cause it's there. You might have guessed I'm into
all this Chicago stuff. Post-rock is a terrible millstone - like
the dreadful prog-rock tag. Dig behind the music press clap trap
and you'll find some quality work including this slightly uneven
curiosity.
Stop press: this album made the News
as the Nude top 100 of the Nineties!
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