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The Tobacconists, "A Secret Place"
On their second LP, the duo of Scott Foust (Idea Fire Company) and Frans de Waard (Kapotte Muziek) chose to integrate more traditional instrumentation into their distinctive sound, namely bass guitar, overt synthesizer, and idiosyncratic rhythms. This was in a conscious attempt to pay tribute to one of both artists' favorite projects, Dome. While none of these six pieces sound directly like Graham Lewis & Bruce Gilbert's legendary project, that influence of bent post-industrial and playful absurdity resonates brilliantly throughout.
Right from the wobbly spring reverb and microscopic clicks that open "Race for Space," the influence of Dome is obvious.Squeaky, squealing bits of noise and what sounds like the hiss of a slowly deflating tire result in an odd, but captivating juxtaposition of noises in a memorable, almost catchy combination.Massive percussive thuds and gurgling textures mingle with white noise on "Pillow Talk," mixed up with fragments of voices also skirts that line nicely between rhythm and noise.
That booming bass guitar on "Out Nights" offsets the sloshing of water and chirpy electronics result in a more abstract combination, and more than a bit dissonant with the heavy emphasis on a low end that nicely vibrates anything nearby.Things get even more industrial with the duo on "Heavy Water Experiments," mixing more hollow bass rattles with surges of feedback and electronics.Tied to a rhythmic, structured loop, odd random sounds mix with synthetic and junk noises into a harsher, grinding electronic vibe.It might be a little repetitive, but the overall power of the song overshadows that significantly.
The most bizarre piece would be "A Secret Place," which opens with a bit of clear levity with its bouncy, lighthearted plucked jazz bass introduction.The bass stays with a lighter ambient atmosphere, but dark low end drones appear, as do melodies seemingly rising from the bottom of the ocean.It might be the most melodic and musical piece here, but it is heavily steeped in sub-aquatic pressure and dissonance.
On the other hand, the sprawling "An Tone Four Giver" goes in the opposite direction via field recordings and dramatic crashes to emphasize experimentation over instrumentation.Churning noise, slamming doors and echoing voices result in a piece that remains dissonant through out.Obvious synth passages and bass guitar creep in amidst the noise and helicopter noises to bring some semblance of convention before stripping down to an expanse of static and radio interference.
The influence of Dome is obvious throughout A Secret Place, but I could never mistake any of these compositions as being one of Lewis' or Gilbert's.Foust and de Waard never try to overtly copy them, but instead work with a similar palette of synths and loose structures.Plus, they manage to conjure the same industrial rhythms and Dadaist playfulness to result in a project that manages to be challenging, but also enjoyable, a feat few artists other than Dome manage to do so successfully.
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