samples:
Fast forward to 2002. Collections of Colonies of Bees is mostly the duo's doing and 'fa.ce (a' is their third album since '99. It is a continuous suite of eight (all but the last untitled) tracks that glide through played, processed and played to be processed sounds - often with elements from each track carrying over into the next.
Besides acoustic and electric guitars, lap steel, piano and steel drums, Rosenau is also credited throughout with "assembly," "manipulation," "miscellaneous noises," and/or the Akai Headrush. Mueller provides drums or percussion on five tracks and another Milwaukee musician, Don Mahlmeister, also adds guitars, Rhodes and Wurlitzer piano, keyboard and programming. That should give you an inkling of the palette and production. In a way, the first track sets a false tone with an upbeat, yet mild-mannered, almost folksy jam involving acoustic guitars, EBow, Rhodes, lap steel, bass and drums. The aftermath is track two, as the final notes slowly fade away and scraped metal and ambient drift supersede. Track three is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've heard in years, if not ever. At the heart of it all is the guitars, their intermittent suggestions of melody and harmonics intertwined with near silence and tiny electronic currents. It's as delicate and pretty as a music box or Faberge egg. A barely audible background of steel drums and bird song begins track four as computer voiced "dooooo"s of varying length and gender pile up with portamento-wavered piano notes. For song five, melted down lap steel licks pick up where four left off and are coupled with somewhat bombastic drum fills. The 11-minute finale belies its curious title of "mu:rder" as the band invents a gorgeous, deep lull, which, up until the final few minutes, are cluttered with digital debris. Start to finish, 'fa.ce (a' is a very finely-calibrated work. It has an impeccable focus and flow, a well balanced mix between acoustic and electronic instrumentation, and a learned sense of time and space. Plain and simple, 'fa.ce (a' is poetry in motion. Look for it in my top ten of 2002 list.
samples: