After two 12" EP's and a bunch of compilation tracks, it is gratifyingfinally to have a proper full-length from Lexaunculpt. "The Turning ofa Miniature Modem" begins the album with the sounds of an orchestratuning, which is an aptly chosen prologue since "orchestral" is an aptterm to describe Alex Graham's music. There always seems to be thishovering chamber orchestra in Lexaunculpt tracks, a rippling softnessand smoothness which vies against the foreground of clicks and glitchesand fizzles. More so than other glitch artists, Lexaunculpt makes songswhich are quite amenable as hip hop beats without actually employingsamples of extant hip hop beats. In other words, some of these songswould be an earnest emcee's wet dream. Following the introductorytuning session, "Has Been Trying Not To Wonder" undergoes a slickmetamorphosis halfway through when bubbling energetic clicks degradeinto a rhythmic synthesized insect orchestra. If this does not soundlike an enjoyable metamorphosis, trust me that it is lovely andrevealing. "A Funeral For a Pink Elephant Ear" is a nearly non-existenttrack which compels you to strain all parts of your auditory systemjust to sense if anything is happening or whether Mr. Graham hastricked us with two minutes of John Cage's copyrighted silence."Strangelove Offline" sounds less like a babbling and demented PeterSellers than it does a malfunctioning and demented Twiki robot fromBuck Rogers. Lexaunculpt waits until the very end to deliver the gem ofthe album. "Emori Dixon Renamed" is a synth-heavy song loaded withstatic which suggests that Graham's Blurring of Treestransmission is breaking up and about to dissipate. There are even somediminutive vocals trying to break through the static, or perhapsinvading from some other ghost signal. In general, I am more oftenengaged by the thick synth songs (there are a group of these whichcomprise full songs or sometimes parts of songs; they sound amazinglyorchestral and celestial at the same time) because they make me bristlewhen I hear them. For this reason, I have always wanted to score themto that part in the first Superman movie when Marlon Brando as Jor-Elis waging his closing arguments against Terence Stamp's General Zod inthat infamous treason case. When I see Zod and his two mutinouscomrades (Non and Vond-Ah) encircled by the silver hula hoops(Krypton's advanced technology for a jail cell) and the faces of theKryptonian elders all around enshrouded in darkness, I really want tobe hearing Lexaunculpt's soaring "Le Elancholia" and not whateverthrowaway piece John Williams contributed, or even the disinterestedvoice of the prosecutorial Marlon Brando. Come to think of it,Lexaunculpt would make an eerily good soundtrack for any escape podtrip from Krypton to Earth, as well.Read More
