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Piano Magic, "Open Cast Heart"
Since their formation in 1996, the only thing that has stayed the same about Piano Magic is how much they've changed. That and Glen Johnson, the only fixture of the group, which includes a revolving door lineup of musicians who come and go like breathing over the course of the project's numerous albums, EPs, soundtracks and compilations.
This collaborative atmosphere has resulted in wildly inconsistent results, which may be an advantage for the group, as it keeps their cult of interested listeners in a state of constant suspense about what each new release might bring. This new EP is the band's first release for Important, and it's also their first foray into full-blown electronic laptop-pop. There's been a heavy experimental, bedroom electronics feel to past releases, but this is the first time that Glen Johnson and Co. have gone high-tech, throwing their lot in with the likes of The Notwist and Postal Service. It seems a peculiarly calculated move for a band that never previously seemed to care about musical trends, and ultimately, I'm not sure if it pays off. The opening track "Echoes on Ice" employs the vocal talents of Klima's Angele David-Guillou against a cold backdrop of sparse digital glitchery with the barest subliminal suggestions of melody and rhythm. It's all very nice, but it sounds nearly identical to the music on Bjork's Vespertine album, and doesn't share the same tantalizingly mysterious atmosphere of previous Piano Magic efforts. It seems fairly derivative, and while it will doubtless appeal to those can't get enough of this sort of thing, it sounds rather tired and dull to me. "The Journal of a Disappointed Man" is inspired by the diaries of W.N.P. Barbellion, a work of terse miserablism that informs Glen Johnson's spoken-word vocals on the track, which continues the same minimal atmospherics from the opening track. "I Didn't Get Where I Am Today" again features singing by David-Guillou, another pointless Bjorkesque wintry ode to depression and solitude. Rounding out the brief EP is "This Heart Machinery," with vocals by Johnson, this time with slightly more compelling backing electronics. Judging by the liner notes for the album, which inform me that Jerome Tcherneyan and Cedric Pin are solely responsible for the music on the album, with Johnson only providing lyrics, it seems to me that Johnson has leaned too heavily on his collaborators this time, ending up with a release that is bland, faceless and unremarkable.
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