Rainbo Video is aptly named. The gorgeous colors emanating from these five compositions shocked me. Everything is meticulous, melodic, infinitely well-organized and lovely. Comparisons to Steve Reich would be justified, particularly in the first sweeping piece “Ultraviolet”.
“Ultraviolet” begins with guitars looped one on top of the other. Other guitars play over these as an organ slowly enters into the piece. The organ floats by at a leisurely pace, indifferent to the frantic pace of the guitars. Eventually the guitars and other sounds are slowly phased out, leaving the organ time to float on by its lonesome, repeating the movement of the guitars.
Guitars are all over this album. Mixed with the organs and a few other effects, they manage to move in a whole different manner. They have become something bigger, something larger while possessing the humanity that makes acoustic guitars so warm and intimate.
“Undertow” happens to be the darkest track. For me this is the middle ‘wistful’ track. It’s achingly beautiful, watching those guitars flower. You can’t find a single variation; they come together as a bleak whole.
For the finale “Hidden in the Ice” the guitars are abandoned. Instead we’re left alone with a digital drift of sound. Considering the amount of energy expended on the previous tracks, this is an appropriate send off. Though the digital versus the more organic feel of the rest of the tracks seems a bit strange, the sound is reminiscent of the earlier organ. It gives the whole album a sense of connectedness.
I ended up playing this album over and over again. Parts of it are just so active you have to go back to discover new elements or pieces you’d missed the first time around. Albums like “Shadow Relics” are rare: ones that offer new insights with each additional listen.
0 comments:
Post a Comment