It’s a travelogue of sorts too; the record skips round Eastern and Central Europe a lot; Zero In Grimaldi’s Playing features an Austrian Duke laying down the law in no uncertain manner…
It’s a travelogue of sorts too; the record skips round Eastern and Central Europe a lot; Zero In Grimaldi’s Playing features an Austrian Duke laying down the law in no uncertain manner…
There are lots of things to note about this LP, but the main one is that it may broaden your appreciation of just how many items you can use for percussion. This LP seems to suggest that your beat can be summoned up from endless sources: from the sounds of a European bison to winches, via some dodgy plumbing in Den Haag. Landscape Through the Trees literally hinges on the squeaking rasping noise of a winch in motion. Luckily this doesn’t make everything too academic, as the LP is a very pleasant not to say poppy listen: there is a strong element of groovy under the radar pop, as practised by Skylab or other artists from the Late Great Ochre Records stable. Submarine Dreams and City in the Intermediate Realm are balanced on delightful melodies and refrains. And on tracks like Trans Siberska Express, singer Zoë Skoulding’s voice has that breathy, soul-pop quality reminiscent of Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier.
It’s a travelogue of sorts too; the record skips round Eastern and Central Europe a lot; Zero In Grimaldi’s Playing features an Austrian Duke laying down the law in no uncertain manner, whereas track titles like Last Train to Medzilarorce and Jiřiho z Poděbrad add to the record’s strong sense of place. The experiments in sound sometimes present tracks with a more sinister flavour: Woodpeckers is a creepy attempt of sorts at a film soundtrack or reportage, with definite nods to side two of Low (and, of course, featuring woodpeckers). The last track, November, is very different to the gloopy and clever pop that has preceded it. It’s almost Cold Wave in spirit, or maybe aping something by Gorecki. The poem featured – JC Bloem’s November – is incredibly well read; and forms a perfect counterpoint to the blasts of icy synth.
An intriguing record, you should give it a spin.