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review by Bill Binkelman Embracing the glass are Sean Carroll on assorted synths, guitars, delay units and samplers and Jeff Sampson on voice and vocal loops. Most of the vocals on this recording are wordless and you might consider them a cross (from a stylistic standpoint) between Sara Ayers and Jim Cole. Carroll's synths and guitars come in a variety of "sounds," such as the warm and fluid ebbing/flowing drones of the first song, "around" where they are melded to Sampson's echoed soft vocals. The juxtaposition of the drones (sounding, at times, like a deep church organ chord) with a fragile yet beautiful multi-tracked voice is just one highlight of this daring alloy of the organic with the electronic. Besides "around," there are four other tracks, one of which is a delightfully quirky "real" vocal number, "great lakes chain gang." This song is the only cut that is less than nine minutes in length (three selections are over eleven minutes long). The music on mandala for chaos is minimal ambient in sound and structure and probably slots in somewhere between neutral in mood and subtly dark. "chasm of faith" features Carroll's Jeff Pearce-like guitar work. Sparse sustained notes somberly anchor the track while Sampson's vocals (more out front than on the previous number) evoke grey skies, bare trees and lonely spaces. Carroll's playing goes through several stages of intensity, all of it in a sustained vein, although some sections are more dramatic than others (towards the end, the sustain and reverb gets fairly powerful, somewhat drowning out Sampson's voice). Sampson's vocals also sound like he is singing real words now and then, but it's tough to make them out. That quirky number, "great lakes chain gang," is next and, personally, I love it. How can you not love chugging didgeridoo, wood stick and hand drum rhythms, and multi-tracked vocals that are so perfectly realized that you'll think you are listening to a mournful bunch of convicts on the side of a rural highway, bemoaning their fate? Well, I told you it was quirky. The last two songs ("after dark" and the title song) are a return to the dark/neutral evocative minimalist textural ambient soundscapes of the first two tracks. "after dark" is probably the darkest of all the pieces here (at over fifteen minutes, it's also the longest). There is a hint of ethno-tribal music to the cut as hand drums rhythms meld with Sampson's indecipherable vocals, while an ebbing/flowing drone courses underneath. The later introduction of synth strings dials up the drama of the piece, even as minimal piano keeps the cut anchored in a sparse landscape. "mandala for chaos" is much warmer in feel, with gently wavering electronics taking center stage, quiet at first but becoming louder and more sweeping in nature. The track could even be described as pastoral at times. For me, I think things get a little TOO loud as the track unwinds. To my ears, some of the musical textures start to sound a little coarse and overpowering, although that's perhaps the artists' intent, especially given the song's title. Unlike a lot of drone/sparse/minimal ambient music, I enjoyed mandala for chaos right away (I usually need a warming up period). Of course, I like the sound of the human voice as an ambient "instrument" (being a fan of Jim Cole and Sara Ayers, as well as Lee Ellen Shoemaker, a.k.a. the Tunnel Singer), so take that into consideration. Sampson has an expressive voice and Carroll's guitar, synths, and assorted studio wizardry is impressive to hear. The album itself is moody but never oppressive and is not really what I would call abstract, either. It's sparse and minimal, but also warm, human, and organic, despite all the electronics. If this debut is any indication what they're capable of, I hope to hear more in the future from embracing the glass. |
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