After my huge enjoyment of their 'Milieu plus' album (see older post) i just had to investigate further and bought these three and, although quite different to that album, these are all astonishingly good. They took a step forward from the earlier album's subtle mix of many disparate instruments and concentrated mainly on electronics, bass and keyboards - with the occasional vibraphone and guitar thrown in. This is particularly rounded on the most recent album ('Revelationes') where the bass notes thread themselves around the hint of darkness that filters through the record - this one, more so than the others, seems to be their 'serious' album. By this i mean that it gives over a sense of solemnity and i can visualize their brows furrowed when they created it - it seems much more concentrated on and less free.'Luminarium' takes the earlier sound and moves it forward into more melodic territory. A much more acoustic guitar based collection of songs, the prettiness of the tunes almost stray into the twee area of things - were it not for the electronics and found sounds going on in the background, which put it firmly into the 'hold your breath 'cos you don't know what's coming next' category. I love the hushed resonance of the sound on this album - the squeaking of the strings, the distance between sounds and the expectation caused by the electronics in the background.
'Fugue' - a collaboration with Bill Wells, plays at 45rpm. I mention this because i played it many many times at 33 and i didn't notice. I'm still not sure which speed i prefer. Bill Wells contributes minimal keyboards and melodica to this collection of 4 beautifully minimalist pieces. Each piece slowly grows with minimal changes in repetition until you reach a point of ending that is criminally too soon. Many times during this album (and the others) i found myself holding my breath at the total beauty of the sounds.I really can't recommend Tape highly enough, although it is true music for concentration and cannot be treated frivolously. It has to be really listened to, to be truly heard.
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