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Paul G. Smyth, "The Anaesthetic"
Recorded live in Dublin, The Anaestheticis composed of seven tracks of piano improvisations. The performancewas recorded in a small building dating from the early 18th century andas such, there is no sound-proofing so at certain points in therecording there are sirens heard from the fire station across thestreet and other city noises.Deserted Village
Also captured are the noises from Smyth'suse of the piano's pedals: a dull thudding that is especially prevalenton the opening track. Both these and the odd stifled cough from theaudience combined with Smyth's style of playing produce a mood that issomewhere between classic noir and H.P. Lovecraft. The applauseand friendly chatter from Smyth have been edited out of the recordingmeaning that any sort of jubilant feeling is gone. The Anaestheticcould very easily become an exercise in alienating the listener butSmyth keeps it human sounding and does not stray too far into academicwank. "II" begins is over eleven minutes of energetic bursts of tight,complex progressions that sound like madness and indeed the thumping ofthe pedals are like Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. The next piece, "III," ismuch more restrained but equally sinister sounding. The sirens come inalmost on cue to add to the atmosphere. Smyth is not content to justsit at the keys and play away, he strums and scrapes the strings duringthe performance with one hand and plays the keys with the other. Hemutes the strings he plays with his fingers which gives veryinteresting textures to the notes. Whilst the first two tracks are abit too plinky and random for my particular taste, The Anaestheticis a great album. As the album plays through and Smyth became morecomfortable with what he was doing the music gets better with eachtrack. I remember leaving the performance on that night feeling drainedbut delighted with what I had heard and the recording does Smyth'sperformance justice.
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