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Bird Show, "Green Inferno"
Ben Vida is best known for his work in Town & Country, but his newproject is both different from and more alluring than his work in thatband. Without completely removing any sense of song structure oridentifiable melody, Vida has assimilated nine tracks of tumult,clatter, and lamentation built out of edited guitars, toy percussion,jazz influences, and secretive tones.Kranky
Along with Liz Payne (part ofboth Pillow and Town & Country), he has succeeded in shaping astrange hybrid of awkward noise and creeping drone work that sometimesborders on sounding improvised and sometimes speaks of carefulconsideration. "All Afternoon Part #1" begins the record like a wake-upcall, sirens buzzing and wailing along with a playful melody thatchimes away underneath the cacophony. What immediately follows is "KindLight," an aptly titled symphony of bell hums marked by Vida's lightvocalizations and a soothing bass accompaniment. From this pointforward all the music takes on a shadowy form, moving between nocturnalinsects, clouded moons, and uneasy consideration. Vida highlights hispieces with the sounds of natural events, faded laughter, instrumentalnoodling, and quiet transformations. It isn't always clear when onetrack begins or the next ends; once "Green Inferno" buzzes into itsslow churning of tribal percussion, the album condenses, expands, andflutters as if it had a mind of its own. "Always/Never Sleep Part #1"and "Part #2" fall out of "Green Inferno" as though they were thenatural evolution of the themes introduced by their predecessor. Theorgan sound on "Part #1" is blissfully relaxing and stretches throughtime like some dense fog of jazz and free association, while "Part #2"prepares the way for the next songs via its near-silent cascade ofreversed effects and lullaby melodies. The whole album, even with itssuddenly jarring moments, feels like one thinking mass of soundevolving before my ears. Vida does limit his sound palette justslightly, preferring to arrange some of the album via reoccurringsamples. Instead of returning to already covered ground, he could havetaken Green Infernoa bit further into the netherworld of hovering music introduced on thefirst half of the record. "Morning/Evening" and "Landlovers" areexquisite pieces, however, the former having an enchanting vocal partthat is secreted away beneath the movement and buzz of violins thatcompose most of its body. The album ends suddenly and makes me wish itsmiddle portion lasted longer, but it keeps calling my name andsurprising me with new sounds every time I listen to it.
Along with Liz Payne (part ofboth Pillow and Town & Country), he has succeeded in shaping astrange hybrid of awkward noise and creeping drone work that sometimesborders on sounding improvised and sometimes speaks of carefulconsideration. "All Afternoon Part #1" begins the record like a wake-upcall, sirens buzzing and wailing along with a playful melody thatchimes away underneath the cacophony. What immediately follows is "KindLight," an aptly titled symphony of bell hums marked by Vida's lightvocalizations and a soothing bass accompaniment. From this pointforward all the music takes on a shadowy form, moving between nocturnalinsects, clouded moons, and uneasy consideration. Vida highlights hispieces with the sounds of natural events, faded laughter, instrumentalnoodling, and quiet transformations. It isn't always clear when onetrack begins or the next ends; once "Green Inferno" buzzes into itsslow churning of tribal percussion, the album condenses, expands, andflutters as if it had a mind of its own. "Always/Never Sleep Part #1"and "Part #2" fall out of "Green Inferno" as though they were thenatural evolution of the themes introduced by their predecessor. Theorgan sound on "Part #1" is blissfully relaxing and stretches throughtime like some dense fog of jazz and free association, while "Part #2"prepares the way for the next songs via its near-silent cascade ofreversed effects and lullaby melodies. The whole album, even with itssuddenly jarring moments, feels like one thinking mass of soundevolving before my ears. Vida does limit his sound palette justslightly, preferring to arrange some of the album via reoccurringsamples. Instead of returning to already covered ground, he could havetaken Green Infernoa bit further into the netherworld of hovering music introduced on thefirst half of the record. "Morning/Evening" and "Landlovers" areexquisite pieces, however, the former having an enchanting vocal partthat is secreted away beneath the movement and buzz of violins thatcompose most of its body. The album ends suddenly and makes me wish itsmiddle portion lasted longer, but it keeps calling my name andsurprising me with new sounds every time I listen to it. samples:
