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Hair Hair Lock & Lore (Russell, 1994) borders on the avantgarde, as their
technique of sound manipulation leaves nothing untried
and a vastly improved arsenal of instruments allows them more ambitious targets.
The gothic frescos of Mass For Broken Needles and
Coffins Filled With Earth are whirlwinds of
found sounds, tape loops, overdubs and treated guitars.
From Whence And To Wither retreats to human emotion via a sequenced
flute. The monumental Death Of Sweetness is the ultimate industrial
collage, a jungle of thuds, drones, screeches and hisses that would make even
Pierre Henry proud.
Grace (Manifold, 1995) is another tour de force of thundering noises,
but the shock is somehow tempered by an atmospheric and psychedelic stance,
one that yields more relaxed compositions such as
The Silent Presence.
The natural evolution of this trend is
Food For The Moon (Manifold, 1996), an almost ambient recording that
employs the same techniques to a different effect. Tracks like
Sad Tree Song indulge in their artificial flavoring rather than
splattering its ingredients all over the acoustic range.
Measuring The Marigolds (Russell, 2000) marks a retreat into
psychedelic rock, from a mellow Paisley-Underground perspective, but with an
almost baroque attention to arrangements.
The album is structured like a fairy tale. It opens with the
county-fair organ (a` la Beatles' Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite)
of The Toymaker's Dream that leads into Wynken Blynken & Nod,
a mellow lullaby with echoes of
Walkabouts and Donovan.
And the tradition of Donovan and Simon & Garfunkel permeates simple ballads like
Trampoline Town.
If the roots of the work are in these dreamy folksingers, they are devastated
by a sensible use of the avantgarde
(the burbling, Terry Riley-an keyboards and a Bach-ian pipe organ in
the tender The Lizard And I)
and of ethnic music
(The Grape Scrubber's Lament, for piano melody and
chirping birds, raga tempo and middle-eastern cantillation).
The duo (Neville Harson and Grant Miller) truly shines in the instrumental
pieces, surreal chamber works like
the cosmic country & western theme The Dust Blows Back (like an early
Grateful Dead nightmare spun through Hosianna Mantra-period Popol Vuh)
and the celestial, medieval dance for flute, cello, melody and guitar of
The Willow Tree.
And, just to cheer up after so much pondering, the duo concocts the
epically demented vaudeville of Signposts On The Sea (a gentle version
of the Holy Modal Rounders) and the ragtime/blues
of Eastward Ho.
The only surge of noise comes with Hurricane, a seven-minute whirlwind
of neurotic guitar distortions a` la Neil Young and solemn drumming.
Too bad the concept is occasionally marred by Beatles imitations
(King Waterfall) and languid folk tunes
(Silver Apples Of The Moon).
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Luigi Motola)
"HAIR HAIR LOCK & LORE"(Russell,1994)segna un confine sull'avanguardia,dato
che la loro tecnica di manipolazione del suono non lascia niente che non
venga sperimentato.I freschi gotici di "MASS FOR BROKEN NEEDLES" e "COFFINS
FILLED WITH EARTH" sono turbini di suoni trovati,cappi di nastro,e chitarre
trattate."FROM WHENCE AND TO WITHER" ritratta verso l'emozione umana,per
mezzo di un flauto a sequenze. Il monumentale "DEATH OF SWEETNESS" e'
l'ultimo collage industriale,una giungla di tonfi,ronzii,strilli e sibili,
che rendono fiero Pierre Henry.
"GRACE"(Manifold,1995)e'un altro tour de force di rumori tuonanti,ma il
colpo e' un qualcosa di temperato da uno stato atmosferico e
psichedelico,che produce composizioni piu' rilassate, come "THE SILENT
PRESENCE".
La naturale evoluzione di questa tendenza e'"FOOD FOR THE
MOON"(Manifold,1996),una registrazione quasi d'ambiente,che impiega le
stesse tecniche, per un effetto diverso.Tracce come "SAD TREE SONG"
soddisfano nel loro sapore artificiale,invece di sprecare i loro ingredienti
in tutto il campo acustico.
"MEASURING THE MARIGOLDS"(russell,2000)marca un ritiro in un rock
psichedelico, da una morbida prospettiva Paisley Underground. Lo studio
lavora "THE GRAPE SCRUBBER'S LAMENT" e "THE WILLOW TREE", e liriche erudite
tengono vivo l'interesse.
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