It’s experimental, avant-garde and a bit bonkers at times but there’s a strong jazz vibe and superb arrangements that give a great coherency and musical quality to this album.
I really like the unusual sounds, they’re often familiar yet hard to describe but excellently processed and used.
There’s a very strong rhythmic / percussive element that forms the backbone of many of the songs. Again these sounds are often unusual but excellently used and the arrangements are often sparse but perfectly done to allow each sound its own space.
Suite: immunity – The Big Squeeze, Arabesque, The Damn Bop, Tickled Pink
It’s an experimental feel with a strong jazz vibe, excellent percussive sounds and superbly arranged with layered synths, bass and orchestration.
Ghanjama
Percussive rhythm is the backbone of the song, there’s some excellent sounding impacts and hit sounds. Vibraphone riffs, distorted lead and background sounds add contrast and an edge of tension at times.
‘Air’ from Porch Music for Earth
Riff and sparse percussion to open, lead and background sounds provide a kind of counterpoint. It’s really well layered, some hard to define sounds.
Passing Phase
This is like a groove set to a typewriter with the typing forming the percussive rhythm accompanied by strings, synths and a vibraphone type sound. It’s an excellent evolution, slowly building tension to a final release.
Quarker
Sparse percussive sounds and a kind of brass sound contrast with a subtle evolving pad. Excellent use of background sounds and layering.
PMfE pt. 1
Bell / chime sounds to open, the synth leads creates a great tension. There’s a kind of call and response feel between the two interspersed with an Eastern sounding lead from a bagpipe / harmonium type sound. The mandolin creates a celtic kind of vibe and the song weaves somewhere in between these two before releasing to a percussive groove with chime type sound. Nice change of feel to violins and plucked strings.
PMfE pt. 2
Harmonium type sound to open creates an unusual stilted kind of rhythm that contrasts against layered riffs and bell / chime sounds. Great contrast between flowing sounds and the more stilted sounds.
War Pump
An upfront edgy slightly distorted rhythm that contrasts with the evolving pad. Excellent percussive sounds and rhythms again, there’s a great tension to the song.
Houston, Over
Atmospheric pad and strings to open, sax adds an excellent element. There’s a kind of haunting beauty and superb ambience, an excellent soundscape.
