REVIEWS
SHALE TO SHIFT -
"DromoMania", Eclipse Records, CD
The album is composed of six sparse, carefully-structured soundscapes
produced by three musicians in "real time". Given that there is such a
huge glut of derivative, sample-based electronic music nowadays, I like to
think of "DromoMania" as "organic" Ambient music. Throughout the album,
strummed, pleasant(-ly melancholy), acoustic guitar chords intermingle with
feedback and pieces of metal and wood that are scraped, bowed, rattled and
struck to produce sound. (A banjo, violin, cello and music box can be detected here and there, also.) This juxtaposition of conventional and abrasive rhythms creates an engaging tension in the music. In the third track, (guitar-based?) drone and very rough, high-pitched feedback are somehow made to complement each other to create a music that is harsh, visceral, soothing and invigorating at the same time. Well done.
After listening to "DromoMania" three times, I can’t determine how much
of the music is improvised, which is either a testament to Shale to
Shift’s honed musical instincts and spontaneous approach to Ambient/Drone
music, or to my tin ear…The album’s six untitled tracks all evolve slowly and intuitively. "Zen-like" would probably be a good description or
reference point, as the "DromoMania" ‘s fifth track has a very Asiatic
feel/approach to it. It’s quite apparent that Shale to Shift’s three members are doing something that the tons of lousy opening acts I’ve seen throughout the years aren’t: listening to each other as they play. I imagine that they would be very engrossing live.
-Randal Wilcox
Jerry Blue – "Flowers of Urban Decay", 2001, Eclipse Records, CD
This "solo" album by Shale to Shift member Jerry Blue is a much more
dynamic and varied collection of improvised, multi-instrumental aural textures than the trio’s "DromoMania" (see review below). In moods ranging from contemplative to aggressive to ecstatic, the 11 tracks on "Flowers"
generally seem to be attempts at re-thinking sound to create
songs/pieces without direct or intentional stylistic references to existing music genres. Nonetheless, "Ambient" and "Drone" are probably the most accurate terms that can be used to approximate the focused meandering and intuitive, painterly fashion that sounds are caressed, coerced, and choked out of various instruments and objects. Hearing how everything comes together engagingly and mellifluously, however, must be heard to be believed. On the 4th track, sub-bass thumps and an enjoyably awkward guitar "solo" (which sounds as if the latter instrument was picked up and played by one of the zombies in the shopping mall from "Dawn of the Dead") flow into a slowly-rising, somewhat elegiac and inspiring procession of organ and guitar tones without seeming segmented or overly contrived. The few joys that religion has to offer can be now be obtained without going to church…If creating a new sound is indeed a partial goal, then academic exercise is eschewed for, well, something that is actually fun to listen to. The rushing, oddly-exciting, heavily-chorused sounds (multi-tracked radio broadcasts? Guitars?) on the 11th track are certainly proof of this. At times, the music on "Flowers of Urban Decay" makes me think of Howard Shore and the musicians on his "Crash" soundtrack covering an album by Oval.
-Randal Wilcox
LOST TIME – "Between Trains", CD-R
This admirable, live improvisational collaboration is perhaps more
exceptional because a few of the musicians featured never met or performed
with each other previously…LOST TIME is the members of Shale to Shift (Jerry
Blue, John Blue, Pixie Kitchen) and Mono Pause (Erik Gergis and Mark Gergis). A myriad number of mostly acoustic instruments were used to create
seven drifting yet centered soundscapes. Although the descending, trembling
strings on the second track seem to come from the soundtrack of an austere
horror movie (or nearly any piece by Bartok, Penderecki or Ligeti, take
your pick), the overall mood of "Between Trains" is very peaceful and
relaxed. Jingly, electric guitar textures and riffs mingle and flow over
staccato rhythms tapped and rattled on various instruments, objects and surfaces at the location of the recording. Slow bass pulses and accordion and organ drones help to flesh out the rest of the sound. The pace of the songs actually seems to get slower as the disc progresses. One would expect the opposite from a group of musicians who had never played together. The seventh track is a long, slowly creeping - but not hesitant - piece that sums up the skill and instinctual eloquence so well displayed in the previous six. Bright, agile, focused, and memorable.
-Randal Wilcox
More information on Randal Wilcox located here:
WWW.RANDALWILCOX.COM
WWW.BALTROP.ORG
Beyond Use
The photos of Jerry Blue
By MULTITANIC
With an eye to the ground, Jerry Blue reimagines the world as an
endless playground. The city's function as a site of public exchange is negated by a personal vision for the lone participant. Objects lose their meaning, and like the junk sets of Jack Smith, trash beautifies, perhaps
sanctifies. Unlike his predecessor Laughlin, Jerry Blue's objects are
not animated, theatrical, or living. Everything is dead except for the
viewer. Our world, a cemetery, is now an abandoned theme park.
The album is composed of six sparse, carefully-structured soundscapes
produced by three musicians in "real time". Given that there is such a
huge glut of derivative, sample-based electronic music nowadays, I like to
think of "DromoMania" as "organic" Ambient music. Throughout the album,
strummed, pleasant(-ly melancholy), acoustic guitar chords intermingle with
feedback and pieces of metal and wood that are scraped, bowed, rattled and
struck to produce sound. (A banjo, violin, cello and music box can be detected here and there, also.) This juxtaposition of conventional and abrasive rhythms creates an engaging tension in the music. In the third track, (guitar-based?) drone and very rough, high-pitched feedback are somehow made to complement each other to create a music that is harsh, visceral, soothing and invigorating at the same time. Well done.
After listening to "DromoMania" three times, I can’t determine how much
of the music is improvised, which is either a testament to Shale to
Shift’s honed musical instincts and spontaneous approach to Ambient/Drone
music, or to my tin ear…The album’s six untitled tracks all evolve slowly and intuitively. "Zen-like" would probably be a good description or
reference point, as the "DromoMania" ‘s fifth track has a very Asiatic
feel/approach to it. It’s quite apparent that Shale to Shift’s three members are doing something that the tons of lousy opening acts I’ve seen throughout the years aren’t: listening to each other as they play. I imagine that they would be very engrossing live.
-Randal Wilcox
Jerry Blue – "Flowers of Urban Decay", 2001, Eclipse Records, CD
This "solo" album by Shale to Shift member Jerry Blue is a much more
dynamic and varied collection of improvised, multi-instrumental aural textures than the trio’s "DromoMania" (see review below). In moods ranging from contemplative to aggressive to ecstatic, the 11 tracks on "Flowers"
generally seem to be attempts at re-thinking sound to create
songs/pieces without direct or intentional stylistic references to existing music genres. Nonetheless, "Ambient" and "Drone" are probably the most accurate terms that can be used to approximate the focused meandering and intuitive, painterly fashion that sounds are caressed, coerced, and choked out of various instruments and objects. Hearing how everything comes together engagingly and mellifluously, however, must be heard to be believed. On the 4th track, sub-bass thumps and an enjoyably awkward guitar "solo" (which sounds as if the latter instrument was picked up and played by one of the zombies in the shopping mall from "Dawn of the Dead") flow into a slowly-rising, somewhat elegiac and inspiring procession of organ and guitar tones without seeming segmented or overly contrived. The few joys that religion has to offer can be now be obtained without going to church…If creating a new sound is indeed a partial goal, then academic exercise is eschewed for, well, something that is actually fun to listen to. The rushing, oddly-exciting, heavily-chorused sounds (multi-tracked radio broadcasts? Guitars?) on the 11th track are certainly proof of this. At times, the music on "Flowers of Urban Decay" makes me think of Howard Shore and the musicians on his "Crash" soundtrack covering an album by Oval.
-Randal Wilcox
LOST TIME – "Between Trains", CD-R
This admirable, live improvisational collaboration is perhaps more
exceptional because a few of the musicians featured never met or performed
with each other previously…LOST TIME is the members of Shale to Shift (Jerry
Blue, John Blue, Pixie Kitchen) and Mono Pause (Erik Gergis and Mark Gergis). A myriad number of mostly acoustic instruments were used to create
seven drifting yet centered soundscapes. Although the descending, trembling
strings on the second track seem to come from the soundtrack of an austere
horror movie (or nearly any piece by Bartok, Penderecki or Ligeti, take
your pick), the overall mood of "Between Trains" is very peaceful and
relaxed. Jingly, electric guitar textures and riffs mingle and flow over
staccato rhythms tapped and rattled on various instruments, objects and surfaces at the location of the recording. Slow bass pulses and accordion and organ drones help to flesh out the rest of the sound. The pace of the songs actually seems to get slower as the disc progresses. One would expect the opposite from a group of musicians who had never played together. The seventh track is a long, slowly creeping - but not hesitant - piece that sums up the skill and instinctual eloquence so well displayed in the previous six. Bright, agile, focused, and memorable.
-Randal Wilcox
More information on Randal Wilcox located here:
WWW.RANDALWILCOX.COM
WWW.BALTROP.ORG
Beyond Use
The photos of Jerry Blue
By MULTITANIC
With an eye to the ground, Jerry Blue reimagines the world as an
endless playground. The city's function as a site of public exchange is negated by a personal vision for the lone participant. Objects lose their meaning, and like the junk sets of Jack Smith, trash beautifies, perhaps
sanctifies. Unlike his predecessor Laughlin, Jerry Blue's objects are
not animated, theatrical, or living. Everything is dead except for the
viewer. Our world, a cemetery, is now an abandoned theme park.
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