Much of the instrumentation (harpsichord, recorder, viola, eViolin, string quartet) may be conventional, traditional and even classical in nature, but Henry Vega (presumably no relation of either Alan or Susan) and his various collaborators achieve something far from conventional in their combining of these orchestral instruments with electronics. ‘Slow Slower’ creates a jagged tension. Elsewhere, tingling tones and ragged bongo percussion forge filmic soundscapes and build suspense.
Insistent jangling chimes irritate the aural receptors, and tetchy strings needle away persistently until it’s almost unbearable before bringing things down to almost nothing, a soft cymbal wash, a sonorous scrape or a scratch of feedback. The dynamics, rather than the compositions, are what make this work, which is infinitely more appealing than previous album ‘Wormsongs’.
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