THREAD, "ABNORMAL LOVE"

Thread is James Izzo and "Abnormal Love" is his new album, one year in the making, tentatively due out this August. Izzo has obviously put mucheffort into making this album dynamic and diverse with a strong senseof continuity. Each song flows into the next, several with the aid ofbrief segue tracks, to make one cohesive whole out of all the pieces.We shift naturally through passages of sample collage, electro/ebm,orchestra, dub, piano arrangement and ambient soundscape. Three songshave vocals. Izzo's don't quite seem to fit by themselves, as on part 2of "The Horror of the Undeserved Gift", but they are functionalalongside those of former SWANS member Jarboe. "The Malformed Heart"gets things pumping with a steady electro heartbeat rhythm. "In SweetSorrow (Duet Version)" differs from last year's single version in thatit's shorter and adds Izzo's low pitched masculine voice ascounterpoint to Jarboe's light feminine vocals. "Blue Darkness(Orchestral)" blurs unintelligible voices amongst foreboding orchestralsynth melodies. "God's Morse Code" is a groove-y 9 and 1/2 minute livejam of underwater alien dub featuring the help of two extra players."Contours" is a bizarre and somewhat difficult mix of percussion andduet vocals, Jarboe especially taking on a devilish persona. "Saudade"(Portuguese for 'homesickness') is a beautifully sparse solo pianopiece. "Skyscrapers and Sand" and "New Horizons" bring the album to anoptimistic close with over 8 minutes of mellow ambiance. "AbnormalLove" is not just a haphazard collection of random tracks, but insteada carefully thought out and arranged album. It is Thread's mostaccomplished and impressive work to date ...

samples:

• God's Morse Code
• In Sweet Sorrow (duet version)
• Skyscrapers and Sand
• The Malformed Heart

[Editor's note: thisCD isn't available yet through major stores, Izzo is shopping for alabel because he doesn't have the time and effort to press anddistribute and promote everything on his own again.]
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