There is a point where sound collages become something else. Dronesstop being merely drones and the cinematic passing of sounds build intoan architecture without shape or form. Christina Sealey, Richard Oddie,and Mark Spybey have consecrated the air about my ears and formedaround it a liquid curtain of sudden memories and vague communicationsfrom the mystical side of dreams. SOSisn't a drone record and it isn't just a collage of sounds, it feelsmore like a movie meant to convey some central ideas. Drowning bells,all-knowing monks, and the enchantment of sirens act as a thematicmarker by which ventures into the unknown take place. The sounds arenever reduced to a pure humming, nor are there any moments where theflooding of sound meshes into an unidentifiable mass. Sounds act asindividual instruments; whether it's the beat of a heart or therotation of blades on an enormous fan, there's always a sense ofgeneral organization between sounds. The group isn't afraid to includefamiliar sounds in their landscape of the strange. Everything fromdistorted radio signals and the cold delivery of a news anchor's voiceto what might be a digeridoo can be found somewhere in the haze ofsonic manipulation. Melodies unfold for small portions of time andrhythm can be picked out of certain pieces, but nothing on SOSrelies on either. I'm incredibly taken by this disc because I find itto be more than impossible to catergorize. Noise, drone, ambient, blah,blah, blah; none of it fits this disc in any way conceivable. Callingit a sound collage ignores the precise way the sequence of tracksplayed with my head and provided at least an illusion of structure andinsight. I wouldn't say this is something drastically new or unique;considering Spybey's long history with sound, I doubt that there aren'tsome familiar themes or ideas at work here, but the entire recordsounds and feels fresh. It deserves and, by way of mystical suggestion,demands repeat listens.Read More
