Following up their excellent 'Today Is the Clearest Stream' cassetete for Blackest Rainbow (which I totally regret not getting), Starving Weirdos make a return to the label with a vinyl album which is pretty excellent. The duo take a side each on this release...Now being brutally honest here I must confess that on first listen I wasn't blown away as I was pretty engrossed in some computer work at the time. Plus this just not what I was expecting from these guys. However on second spin it doesn't take long into the first piece to realize you're in the presence of something quite special. Hypnotic treated piano loops originally played by pianist Darius Brottman create a hypnotic and classy feeling while simultaneously feeling a little creepy. Once the recordings of incidental sounds start to build it shifts gear entirely with all sorts of smart little manipulations and detailed dynamics. The beauty and simplicity of the keys juxtaposed with the concrete works really well. It almost sounds like someone kicking a chair and you keep expecting the whole piece to collapse into cacophony. The piano playing becomes more intense with some subtle effects. The second number is more subdued with a gentle humming drone sitting beneath the piano. The key's sound like they're weeping while lower in the mix are some recordings of birds tweeting. There's something a little unnerving about the vibe emitting from this, or maybe I'm just getting "the fear". By the time we arrive at the third track things get stranger with some crazy piano playing and some deliciously sinister electronics. This heads right into the weird zone with hyperactive key sounds while throbs of bass morph and swell up over the chiming keys. The final track is extremely dramatic and very intense as layers of keys are blended together to stunning effect. After all the heavy processing it becomes stripped back down to the skeleton of the album which is simply piano. This is one of those records that reveals something new each time you play and although it's in essence quite avant-garde I think it's actually quite accessible and may well appeal to folks that dig the more experimental end of modern classical stuff. The only thing I have by these guys is the first album and I really loved the CD they did on Bottropp boy. This is totally different but just as high quality and demonstrates a duo that are truly experimenting with sound. A great record in full colour sleeve and on 180g vinyl. Ltd to 500 copies and highly recommended.
Before I wrote this Brian posted a fictitious review written by him and not me. I've kept it below because it made me laugh. Further evidence that he is resident goon.
Sleep on and dream of love
Because it's the closest you will
Get to love, oh ah ...
The poor twisted child
So ugly, so ugly
The poor twisted child
Oh hug me, oh hug me
One november
Spawned a monster
In the shape of this child
Love this record? Hate it? Tell us.
Sound clips for B/P/M Series 1 by Starving Weirdos: on vinyl at Norman Records UK. LP (vinyl), Blackest Rainbow, £7.49.
Absolutely mind melting release from this consistently amazing American duo. This release has a very different sound to there superb drone recordings of there recent releases, yet it is still totally immense but really quite unexpected... This was previously issued as a tour only CDR in a press of somewhere between 20 and 30 copies. Brian Pyle and Merrick McKinlay spent sometime recording legendary Humboldt based pianist Darius Brottman, who also happens to have a radio show before Brian's own show on KHSU college radio. The recordings of Brottman were then reworked by McKinlay and Pyle separately. Pyle and McKinlay have a side each on this LP, both sides featuring very different ways of reworking the original beautiful recordings. Side A opens with some straight piano clinks layered with incidental sounds that occured during recording sessions, creating an amazing feeling of beautiful surrealness , leadings into multi-layered piano movements over and over. Side B begins with an powerful, erratic, forceful playing, coated in psychedelic loops and reversed sounds, then returning to a more straight piano playing. The second track on this side almost bleeds into familiar Weirdo territory. This is one bizarre, but equally genius and beautiful release. Both myself and the Weirdos are honored to have the artwork for this LP designed by artist Mick Wiggins. Pro printed sleeves, pressed on 180 gram vinyl and limited to 500 copies.
