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set fire to flames, "sings reign rebuilder"
And the gybe! side projects continue to grow in number. It's almost as though they're becoming more of a commune of musicians, a collective whose parts are ever-changing and ever-growing. This release features a lot of the same components and dynamics we've come to expect from gybe! and Silver Mt. Zion: field recordings, strings, chiming guitars, loud-soft variations, solid drumming.
It is at once foreboding and punishing while maintaining a lovely undertone. But it also contains sounds and elements you would never hear on a gybe! record. There are moments of high-pitched squeals and over-distorted beats, almost with a trip-hop shuffle to them, and then almost free-form jazz drumming a few tracks later. Voices are manipulated with hisses and pops in a completely fresh manner. Plus, the majority of the tracks are under the 5-minute mark (!). As records go, it has a lot to offer, particularly given the talent involved in making it. So why then is it all so underwhelming? Don't get me wrong, there are some fine pieces of music here. Some haunting, some lovely, all original. But because they're based on largely improvised recordings, it lacks some focus. Tracks begin and end without really getting anywhere, and the structure on some is either not there at all or just plain odd. The band state "things worked out somehow and we got lucky." Yes, but a little more concentration and a little less luck might have taken some of these tracks much further. As it stands, this release is a hint at the power these musicians can capture, a power that is fully realized and explored on other releases by this band's members. I'd like to hear more from this formation, as "sings reign rebuilder" doesn't feel like the complete release I'd wanted so badly to hear.
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