Robert Poss’s post-Band of Susans work has covered a significant number of styles, however what remains consistent is his omnipresent guitar. Having worked in traditional song-like structures, music for dance performances, and pure abstraction, I have always been impressed by his solo work. Kepler’s Choice is a collaboration with E-Clark (Edward) Cornell, making for Poss’s first collaboration in a number of years. As a lengthy CD split into eight pieces (the shortest clocking in at close to six minutes), there is a lot to digest here, with a sound heavily steeped in modern classical composition.
The title piece opens the disc and features the two playing with dynamics, with frequent swells of sound rising and then being pulled back. This provides a sort of stuttering structure that—coupled with the hard panning of the segments—makes for a pleasant sense of disorientation. Layers build and rich tones underscore, which a provide a solid foundation on which the two stack. Comparably, the following “the ripple effect from an emotional error” (preserving the capitalization structure of the song list) is more grounded. Acoustic guitar from Poss blends with rising, delicate sections of what could be synths conjuring a sense of drama, punctuated by rich piano passages. Throughout its 11-and-a-half-minute duration the two push the work into a multitude of spaces: first electronics and cavernous tones into glitching and a guitar-centric sound.
"Transverse 25" has Poss and Cornell employing extended synth strings and tremolo-laden layers of electronics (or possibly heavily processed guitar) before lower register guitar passages are added to the piece. The work eventually develops into its own unique melodic structure, with overt guitars and interlocking passages. Similarly nuanced is "Bad Trees," which is at first piano treated with an odd, subtle layer of distortion that’s met with erratic metallic percussion that is disquieting without ever becoming too uncomfortable. Compared to some of the other moments on the album, there is a greater sense of underlying tension throughout.
"SUBLIMATION*" comparably features the two exercising more restraint. Segments of piano pop in at higher volumes as a slow-motion drone underscores the entirety. There are fewer drastic changes in instrumentation, but the use of dynamics gives an additional edge. "Codified Betrayal" is another piece in which the sound stays in a more specific lane, and in this case it is Poss’s guitar that takes the forefront. Blended into melodies, drones, and feedback, his ample history with the instrument shines through brilliantly and links back to his previous work exceptionally well.
The intent of Cornell and Poss to create a work more directly informed by modern symphonic composition is executed perfectly on Kepler’s Choice. There is a significant amount of variation, nuance, and depth across each piece, which align like separate movements in the scope of a larger work. It is dense, but never impenetrable and while it is a heady work overall, it is never daunting and instead becomes a mesmerizing, enthralling experience.
