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Humcrush, "Rest At Worlds End"
There seem to be two wildly different sides to this band: one that plays skittering discordant freak-outs, and one that strives for some sort of ambient/post-rock/Tangerine Dream hybrid. I vastly prefer the freak-out side. No one ever says "I saw the most amazing jazz duo last night, they had this virtuousic and incendiary drummer, but he concealed that extremely well and played with tasteful restraint and subtlety instead. It was awesome!". This album lives and dies by how much drummer Thomas Stronen opens up.
The third release between drummer Thomas Stronen (Food) and keyboardist Stale Storlokken (Supersilent) earns the distinction of being the first live album that I have ever heard that does not sound live. Also, it makes a compelling argument that Norway is one of the few places on earth where jazz is still thriving and evolving (and ingeniously incorporating outside influences like Tortoise and Squarepusher). It does not, however, make a compelling argument for vintage synth sounds or ambient-jazz. Aside from the conspicuous absence of clapping and crowd noise, Rest At Worlds End is also unusual among live jazz recordings for being made up entirely of new material and for sounding meticulously planned (at least during the more groove-based tracks). This music appears to exist in a grey area between songs and spontaneous free-form improvisation.
Stronen's drumming is largely exceptional throughout. His free-form playing is absolutely staggering whenever it occurs (such as on "Creak" and "Bullfight"). Even when he locks into a groove (such as on "Steam" and the jungle-influenced "Hit"), he still manages to sound like an octopus on meth- his rhythms are always startlingly complex and constantly shifting. As for Storlokken, he is extremely creative with his keyboard sound and it varies enormously from song to song. Often it sounds entirely unlike a keyboard. Certainly unlike anything heard on a jazz album. On "Stream" for example, it sounds like it is badly malfunctioning and short-circuiting. Storlokken's frantic playing initially yields only static-damaged notes, distorted blurts, and abrupt squonks before finally expanding into a thick fuzzed-out bass line and what sounds like water dripping in a cave. It is absolutely face-melting and sounds like nothing I have previously heard from a live band. Unfortunately, his liberal tonal palette is often a mixed bag. Some of the sounds he employs are rightfully avoided by his peers and skim perilously close to Jean Michel Jarre territory.
This album, lamentably, has two cavernous flaws. The first is that Storlokken has an unhealthy obsession with tones and textures from early electronic and space music. While that might be laudable under some circumstances, in the context of this particular album they frequently sound intrusive and somewhat absurd. Secondly, Rune Grammofon claims that the album features "atmospheric moods" and is "meanderingly contemplative." That is dead-on. The ambient pieces on album (and there are many) seem to go nowhere and often consist primarily of languid, Moog-y, atonal, impressionistic noodlings. The title track is probably the best of these excursions: the New Age-y treated-flute sounds get it off to a pretty dodgy start, but they are thankfully disrupted by wild drum fills. Eventually, the piece coheres into a warm and elegant chord progression that would not be out of place on an early Aphex Twin album. The others, unfortunately, never quite cohere.
I really wish I liked this more. These guys possess a staggering amount of technical skill and a clear willingness to break new ground. This album, regrettably, does not consistently deliver on that promise, but does feature some sustained flashes of brilliance. However, given how actively these two have been collaborating and performing within the Norwegian jazz scene, it seems possible that Humcrush may consciously exist solely as an outlet for Storlokken 's more outre whims and indulgent excursions that would not fit elsewhere. Regardless of his objective, he appears to have found in Stronen the ideal foil for these experiments.
(the vinyl double-LP version of this album comes with an extra seven tracks)
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