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Brent Gutzeit, "Drug Money"
Kranky
The cover is the first hint that I'm not meant to be comfortablelistening to this record. The second hint comes in the shape of slowlyfulgurating tones coating the room in a fine myst. Brent Gutzeit hascreated a horrifying record by placing motors on the strings of pianosand then manipulating them into tools of the devil (surely that's allthis sound can be). "Piano Motor Skills #2" begins with the slowchugging of some machine, perhaps underground, restlessly performingits task. The bells of far off places resonate over a cloud-coveredcity and somewhere in the alleys lurks a beast ready to feast on somefoolish visitor who has wandered astray. The effect of the long dronesand the carefully mixed rhythms is an atmosphere that sparks andtwitches with tension; the second half of this first track feels like aslow camera pan over this frozen city in my mind, like something out ofa Stanley Kubrick film... only more alien, more remote, and moremonumental. While much of this album is minimalistic, there's anenormity in its soul that breathes through every second. "RidingHorses" creeps along ominously and carefully but feels gigantic as ifit were a sonic photo of some Lovecraftian landscape filled withmonsters unknown to humankind. It slowly fades away into "400 Blows," apiece haunted by warmer and less intimidating tones. As it progresses,the mood becomes increasingly relaxed, as though the horrors of theprevious movements were being massaged out of my shoulders. Gutzeit'saddition of a monastic relief-zone at the end of this record adds adimension to this record that increases its listenability. "400 Blows"would be a great happy ending for Drug Money,but I was faked into believing the ending could ever be happy. Anuntitled and unlisted track closes the album on a very sickly note. Itbegins with bird calls and natural sounds, but ends with a creepingsickness manifested in the sound of overwhelming and powerful bellsroaring in from some place unknown. I'd like to listen to this recordjust after watching a very scary movie. Perhaps with a single candle,the curtains drawn, and a mind for seeing things that may or may not bethere.
The cover is the first hint that I'm not meant to be comfortablelistening to this record. The second hint comes in the shape of slowlyfulgurating tones coating the room in a fine myst. Brent Gutzeit hascreated a horrifying record by placing motors on the strings of pianosand then manipulating them into tools of the devil (surely that's allthis sound can be). "Piano Motor Skills #2" begins with the slowchugging of some machine, perhaps underground, restlessly performingits task. The bells of far off places resonate over a cloud-coveredcity and somewhere in the alleys lurks a beast ready to feast on somefoolish visitor who has wandered astray. The effect of the long dronesand the carefully mixed rhythms is an atmosphere that sparks andtwitches with tension; the second half of this first track feels like aslow camera pan over this frozen city in my mind, like something out ofa Stanley Kubrick film... only more alien, more remote, and moremonumental. While much of this album is minimalistic, there's anenormity in its soul that breathes through every second. "RidingHorses" creeps along ominously and carefully but feels gigantic as ifit were a sonic photo of some Lovecraftian landscape filled withmonsters unknown to humankind. It slowly fades away into "400 Blows," apiece haunted by warmer and less intimidating tones. As it progresses,the mood becomes increasingly relaxed, as though the horrors of theprevious movements were being massaged out of my shoulders. Gutzeit'saddition of a monastic relief-zone at the end of this record adds adimension to this record that increases its listenability. "400 Blows"would be a great happy ending for Drug Money,but I was faked into believing the ending could ever be happy. Anuntitled and unlisted track closes the album on a very sickly note. Itbegins with bird calls and natural sounds, but ends with a creepingsickness manifested in the sound of overwhelming and powerful bellsroaring in from some place unknown. I'd like to listen to this recordjust after watching a very scary movie. Perhaps with a single candle,the curtains drawn, and a mind for seeing things that may or may not bethere.samples:
Pit er Pat
Starting in 2004, the trio of Pit er Pat—Rob Doran, Fay Davis-Jeffers and Butchy Fuego—have been releasing music on a number of different labels, including their latest full-length on Chicago's Thrill Jockey. Their brand of music has drawn comparisons to Blonde Redhead, Soft Machine and Slapp Happy, among others.
