The three piece improv group return with their second album which is more of the same structureless music that brings to mind John Cage's prepared piano works if they were disarranged for a free jazz ensemble. This album is interesting (in a beard stroking kind of way) but the group does not challenge the listener enough for all its pretenses. The players hold themselves back more often than is necessary; the power of their music is reduced greatly as a result.
Synaesthesia
The three performers spend as much time not playing as they do making noise. Percussionist Sean Baxter is the most active of the three but gets stuck playing what sounds like the same haphazard beat but on different objects each time. The group utilize two prepared instruments, a piano and a guitar played by Anthony Pateras and David Brown respectively. Apart from the obvious piano and guitar sounds, these two instruments fuse together at times; it is hard to tell what strange sound is coming from which instrument. Both Pateras and Brown play with a lot of restraint and while it is refreshing to hear a group holding back instead of clamoring for the limelight, I wish they would let rip just once or twice to shake things up a bit.
Gauticle requires a lot of patience from the listener as it is not exactly easy listening. The pieces are simply named after the locations where they were recorded, three from Vienna and two from London. The first piece from Vienna sets the mood of the album immediately; it is brooding, atmospheric and sparse. However, it doesn't go far and 11 minutes is a long time to be doing so little. "Vienna Three" is in a similar vein to the first one but with a bit more drama. The percussion is better and the small squalls of guitar feedback provide some much needed texture to the music.
As the disc goes on, the abstract nature of the playing takes its toll. I would have liked something concrete to hold on to but five tracks of atonal noodling is a bit much for me. It is good but something I prefer to take in smaller doses. Sitting down to listen to the album all in one go was a draining experience, taking it track by track allowed me to appreciate it more. I like Gauticle but not too much of it too often. It can be a slog to get through despite most of the pieces being quite good.
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