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Brendan Murray, "Resting Places"
Brendan Murray is one of the most unsung practitioners of experimentalmusic in Boston's fertile scene. This beautifully crafted set of fourpieces should do much to raise his profile. As the tracks were recordedover a period of three years, each track has a slightly different feel.Murray has strengthened the set by choosing a universal theme (varioustypes of resting places) and representing it in different ways throughcareful editing.Sedimental
The opening "Shore" is contemplative in tone, withlayers of buzzing and shimmering tones weaving steadily in and out ofthe mix. "Garden" is less linear, with several different sections thatgradually develop over 12 minutes. The short, sudden jolt of noise thatoccurs at one and a half minutes sounds like the equivalent of aflashback scene in a film. The relatively quiet sections ofinterlocking tones that follow this outburst then carry a heavy senseof tension, as the sounds of past memories could again interrupt thesequence at any time. Murray successfully fuses digital processing witha warm, human touch throughout the set. Six minutes into "Garden" anarray of clanging, arrhythmically struck metal percussion is heardamidst the floating tones that gradually build to a steady drift untila section of shrill, piercing feedback brings the piece to a close."Bed" begins with a collage of beautifully hazy bell tones, which giveway to a passage during which Murray can be heard rubbing small bits ofmetal together. The length of these tracks (each between 10 and 17minutes) allows him to fully explore each sound before morphing it intosomething else. He clearly brings a musician's sense of composition tothe world of abstract, rhythmless sound. This intuitive sense ofarranging and a keen use of dynamics helps the album to remain excitingalthough a very specific palette of sounds is utilized. "Tomb" is themost dense composition, with several layers of audio muck to wadethrough. It's a true culmination of all of the elements used in thepreceding three tracks. The high-pitched squeals wind their way througha steady onslaught of digital detritus as Murray piles on the layers.If he is ruminating on the possibly permanent nature of the tomb as a finalresting place, his reading of it seems to be a celebration of all thathas come before this state, rather than a morbid reflection of deathitself. By juxtaposing the meditative tones of "Shore" with thepeaceful, womb-like environment evoked in the first half of "Bed" andthe sheer catharsis of "Tomb"'s exorcism through noise, Murray haspresented a thorough and highly enjoyable study of an eternal subject.
The opening "Shore" is contemplative in tone, withlayers of buzzing and shimmering tones weaving steadily in and out ofthe mix. "Garden" is less linear, with several different sections thatgradually develop over 12 minutes. The short, sudden jolt of noise thatoccurs at one and a half minutes sounds like the equivalent of aflashback scene in a film. The relatively quiet sections ofinterlocking tones that follow this outburst then carry a heavy senseof tension, as the sounds of past memories could again interrupt thesequence at any time. Murray successfully fuses digital processing witha warm, human touch throughout the set. Six minutes into "Garden" anarray of clanging, arrhythmically struck metal percussion is heardamidst the floating tones that gradually build to a steady drift untila section of shrill, piercing feedback brings the piece to a close."Bed" begins with a collage of beautifully hazy bell tones, which giveway to a passage during which Murray can be heard rubbing small bits ofmetal together. The length of these tracks (each between 10 and 17minutes) allows him to fully explore each sound before morphing it intosomething else. He clearly brings a musician's sense of composition tothe world of abstract, rhythmless sound. This intuitive sense ofarranging and a keen use of dynamics helps the album to remain excitingalthough a very specific palette of sounds is utilized. "Tomb" is themost dense composition, with several layers of audio muck to wadethrough. It's a true culmination of all of the elements used in thepreceding three tracks. The high-pitched squeals wind their way througha steady onslaught of digital detritus as Murray piles on the layers.If he is ruminating on the possibly permanent nature of the tomb as a finalresting place, his reading of it seems to be a celebration of all thathas come before this state, rather than a morbid reflection of deathitself. By juxtaposing the meditative tones of "Shore" with thepeaceful, womb-like environment evoked in the first half of "Bed" andthe sheer catharsis of "Tomb"'s exorcism through noise, Murray haspresented a thorough and highly enjoyable study of an eternal subject.samples:
