Startling Moniker

Limited-edition improv from Midwestern odd-instrument builders Jay Kreimer (The Mighty Vitamins) and Bryan Day (Eloine, Shelf Life) on the Featherspines label. This one reminds me a lot of the Day/Polipnick project “Nagaoag;” with its free-time meandering, random vocal outbursts, and unknown instrumentation.

Of course, that’s a big part of the enjoyment here. What could be making the mechanical lion growling? Why does everything sound like it was recorded underground in a colony of 50-foot ants? What mad carpenter fashioned the instrument that sounds like lightbulbs being shattered while sliding down a de-tuned guitar?

“Land Tracts” is quite bewildering, but at turns– and mostly due to Kreimer and Day’s unerring sense of aural nuance– it possesses a true organic beauty that simply does not exist on so many improvisational recordings. I’m sure I’ll never find it again (natural beauty is always elusive and wild) but one of my favorite moments so far was hearing an unexpected transition to a more quiet atmosphere. In just a few seconds, every sound nestled amongst the others, like a heavy blanket settling gradually upon a bed.

With only 60 copies printed, my advice is to grab this one quickly if it sounds interesting to you. If you miss it, go back and pick up “Ductworks” from Day’s “Shelf Life” project.

Available now as Featherspines/17.

This entry was posted on January 16, 2009 at 1:08 pm and is filed under experimental, experimental music, improvisation, music review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.