|
REVIEWS
BRAINWASHED
Written by John Kealy
Sunday, 06 April 2008
This 7" only release sees Andrew
Liles form yet another collaborative
unit, this time with Clodagh Simonds'
wonderful (and ever changing) group.
Established Fovea Hex approaches
to song recur only to be almost
completely dashed aside with new
approaches to their work. That so
much can happen on two shorts sides
of vinyl is not very surprising
considering how epic Simonds' previous
EPs with her group have been. With
Liles' sonic alchemy, the results
are breathtaking.
The A-side contains "Every
Evening," which sounds as expected.
The ethereal ambiences paired with
the clear, striking piano makes
a glorious backdrop for Simonds'
vocals. Lyrically it continues a
stream of thought that began on
"That River" and flowed
through "While You're Away"
from Fovea Hex's Neither Speak Nor
Remain Silent EPs. Stars shine and
rivers meet the sea in an almost
Joycean expression of the spectacular
amidst the normality of life.
On "Gone" there is a very
different mood. Simonds is joined
on vocals by Laura Sheeran (veteran
of the three Fovea Hex EPs) and
by Larsen's Fabrizio Palumbo. Palumbo's
somewhat indifferent-sounding voice
when narrating the story of a man
who finds their world disappearing
is at odds with the two ladies'
emotive singing. The song ends with
an almost panicked screaming, a
far cry from the womb-like calm
that I expect. The song is so jarring
that at first I could not decide
if I liked it or not, it completely
went against my expectations. Now
that the shock is gone, it is definitely
a keeper.
Liles continues to show his versatility
as a sound artist. He seems to be
able to sit himself in comfortably
in any musical situation; the variety
on show in his own back catalogue
and his ever increasing list of
collaborations is a testament to
his talent. Here he manages to keep
the dynamics of Fovea Hex's music
intact but still put a different
veneer on the production. It sounds
like Fovea Hex has been channelled
through a filter slightly different
to normal, certain sounds are accented
more and familiar styles are of
a different hue. It is a meeting
of minds that really should become
a regular occurrence (hopefully
on something more substantial than
a single or an EP, a Fovea Hex album
is well overdue!).
VITAL
WEEKLY
Following three excellent
mini CDs produced with the top layer
of sonic experimentalism, Clodagh
Simonds teams with here Micheal
Begg, Fabrizio Palumbo and Laura
Sheeran, all under the guidance
of Andrew Liles (rapidly climbing
up to the top layer) to record two
lovely tracks on a 7". 'Gone'
is on side a, and 'Every Evening'
on the other.
The a-side has piano at the hearth
of the piece and Simonds heavenly
vocals solo with beautiful ambient
like electronics humming sparsely
about. 'Every Evening' has a strange
narrative by Palumbo and multi-layered
singing by Sheeran and Simonds and
has a fairy tale like atmosphere,
but with an unsettling undercurrent
in the piece. This is beautiful
too but much more spooky. Way too
short on this format, one could
only want some more after this.
Fascinating, beautiful, small treasure.
(FdW)
|
