Lea Cummings - Revelations from the New Silence Volume I: Wholene [Kovorox Sound - 2010]Nearly ten years ago, I released a tape by Lea Cumming’s band “Opaque” on my label; bizarrely, I think this is the first complete release I’ve heard since by him. The important thing is that he’s still going; and, judging from this cdr, going strong - so more fool me for my woeful neglect. My ears expected noise, noise, noise; since one of the few times I’ve crossed paths with him, I was on the receiving end of one of his chaotic Kylie Minoise sets. But no, there’s quite a different beast on display here.
The beautifully austere, weighty artwork and titles (“The Vorticular Mechanics of the Aether” being my favourite) serve as a frontispiece to five tracks presenting different takes on “the drone”. A noble and distinguished subject, which is often attempted, but less often excelled in. The first of the five, “The New Religion”, is a fast-moving, metallic shimmer; it has a clean, digital feel, with lots of layers and depth. It evokes a wintry tone - in fact, if you’ll indulge me, its akin to watching snow falling heavily, at great speed. (Though this suggests vertical movement, and drones always seem “horizontal” to me, no…?) This blizzard (albeit, peaceful blizzard) changes to a much more stripped-down sound for the next track, which could almost be Stars Of The Lid at their most barren and static. Its built around a nodding, looping organ sound; which warms the speakers for nearly twelve minutes of slow and definite, celestial drone. “Zero Point Energy” is the third track, and the shortest at just under five minutes. It has quite busy threads of treble, reverberating in and out of more crawling, feedbacking tones. It reminds me of some of Thomas Koner’s work; its probably the darkest piece on the album. The track after this (whose title I mentioned in my second paragraph) starts off with smothering, low, murky drones; but the movement of the surface detail adds a lightness to the whole thing. There’s a “hollow” feel to the track, like its on the constant verge of disintegration. With the final piece, “The Third Coming”, this deterioration suddenly jumps out from the speakers and rudely plants itself in our face. A lurching, chopping, dirty bass throb which churns away for nine minutes; its like an extended Fabio Frizzi zombie assault. About a quarter of the way through, layers of feedback rise forth - very much heaven-bound compared to the filth and grime of the bass judder. Having said that “Zero Point Energy ” is probably the darkest track here, this last effort does give it a run for its money; but whereas the third piece has a “creeping” darkness, the last is more obviously blood-soaked. This is a really great release, a restrained and crafted work. The inclusion of the last track, so incongruous initially, stops the album from being simply another collection of good drones. The prevailing tone reminds me, again, of the recordings of Thomas Koner: there clearly is a darkness, but its never sign-posted in neon lights or handled in a clumsy way. Its not overtly oppressive or dark, but its lurking there to be found. Martin P
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