Late at night in the USA there's this syndicated talk show all over AM radio called Coast to Coast AM.It's all about the paranormal: making contact with UFOs, the dead andbeyond, and other mystic things that science mysteriously avoids.Perhaps some of it is true, perhaps it's all a hoax, but it sure makesfor some addictive entertainment. For the latest Bass Communionrelease, Steven Wilson has constructed a series of amazing soniclandscapes inspired by Konstantin Raudive's attempts in the 1970s torecord ghosts. Similar to Coast to Coast AM, Wilson could beeither completely serious about reinterpreting ectoplasmic audio or itcould just be a hoax in its own way. Either way, the output isphenomenal and undoubtedly multidimensional. Wilson's interpretationsof the dead are constructed from munching the sounds of choral voices,scratchy old vinyl, wind, piano, guitar, flute, and variousunrecognizable things into a dense soup of thunderous roars, cracklesand landscapes that are rich with visual imagery. Speakers warble,objects in the room vibrate, earwax loosens, roommates come wanderingin, but nothing can disturb the serenity. Of course, it also helps thatWilson's been hanging out with Jonathan Coleclough and Colin Potterrecently, two of the Jedi Masters of modern drone. What Wilson bringsto the drones is a rich musical history, as he's "played" music inbands like Porcupine Tree and No Man. Calling this album a work ofdrones is somewhat limiting, as melodic movements permeate the disc.Whether it's a sparse one-note melody on "Part 1" or symphonic-likegrandness on "Part 4," never does the melody simply sit idly andsustain. The music can be so quiet however, it's effective to listeneither with headphones or high volumes in complete darkness. Ideally, avisual component to be projected on a large screen with superb digitalsound would be a great place to experience this amazing album, but fornow, we can lie back and dream it ourselves.Read More
