Although dormant for a number of years, Paul Douglas has leapt back into activity on this brief, but effective 7" single. With heavy use of electronics and processing, these two pieces are shaped into fully fleshed out and complicated works that bear the mark of an expert.
"Willow" is heavy on the electronics right from the onset, building from looping, heavy electronics that edge just ever so slightly into the realm of dissonance.Even with that, the slight dissonance gives an engaging grime to the otherwise gentle flow of sound, mixing in textural sensations and just a bit of crunch.The overall performance is bathed in a nice, warm glow of static that does not obscure as much as strengthen the sound.
On the other side, "Morning," Douglas keeps mostly away from the noisier elements and instead works amongst a world of light, ambient sounds.Slowly gliding, string-like passages drift about, propelled along by a low-end swell that never gets out of control, but instead propels the piece to delicately float away into silence as it concludes.
Douglas' work here might not be redefining a genre or breaking any new ground in its over all sound or approach, but it is an example of electronic abstraction done extremely well, presented in a tight, yet fully realized package that keeps things compelling throughout.
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