Based on my first encounters with Ambarchi’s work, I have always associated him with the abstract, post-rock tinged world of experimental guitar noise and drone. However, following up his recent Audience of One album, this album continues his transition into more "song" oriented work, and brilliantly so. Simple, but hypnotic in its execution, it a taut, dramatic 30-plus minute single track that grabbed my attention immediately and has stood up strongly ever since.
Sagittarian Domain is a single track album, with most of the instrumentation (guitar, synth, drums and vocals) played by Ambarchi himself, with a hint of stings arriving later on, initially as an additional element, but eventually becoming the focus.His penchant for more oblique, dissonant guitar experimentation is still here, but pushed more to the back, punctuating a tight, tense piece of music.
Repetition is the name of the game here:opening with tightly clipped notes and erratic delays, the guitar is soon matched with a robotic Moog synth bass line and subtle, punctuating feedback.It makes for an excellent slow build, never dragging too long, and elements eventually settle into a notable groove.
Once the drums kick in, it becomes a film noir-meets-raut motorik excursion, the perfect score for a car chase or other tense, kinetic scene.Ambarchi's drumming is not complex or exceptionally poly-rhythmic by any means (he is no Jaki Liebezeit), but has just the right sound and production to give a noisy, effective garage quality that makes it utterly engaging. The rhythm section remains consistent mostly throughout the bulk of the piece, with only small variations to be heard.They are minute, but quite effective in the otherwise hypnotic repetition.All the while Ambarchi's guitar scrapes become louder and more forceful, only to retreat back into the mix and come back once again.
It is not until the final third that he lets loose, casting out waves of squalling guitar noise as a frenzied compliment to the tightly disciplined rhythms.When it eventually overtakes the rhythm, everything falls away to reveal a trio of strings in tight harmony with one another, making for a lush, cinematic flourish to the relentless tension that preceded it.
Given that it is a long-form single piece, the intentional repetition might be off-putting to some, but it becomes this album’s greatest asset.It is through this complex, nuanced repetition that the variations and eventually dramatic ending shine through.To use an aforementioned metaphor, it is akin to a tense chase, which seems almost unrelenting, until it does, releasing that pent up energy in a glorious, beautiful ending.
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