Arco Flute Foundation - The Third Lesson in New Era Time: Running Slow Motion Marathons with Purple Rejoice; Who Killed the Party House?
(Cenotaph)
In case you don't know the background information on these guys, here's a
quick history: Mike and Pete are in an excellent band called
Meisha. They play minimalist sound sculptures
covered in dream-machine delay. One day they wanted to rock the house. They
got their friend to hit some drums for them and he brought along a didgeridoo
player and another guitarist. Together they rocked far into the subconscious.
This album is one of the results. I think that Arco Flute are best
when in a live context. Their balance of drone and rock is slightly
precarious on record but leans more toward rock when live. When these guys
build songs off of guitar lines and swell them into anthemic bombast, the true
heart of the beast is exposed. Much like Hash Jar Tempo is to Bardo Pond,
Arco Flute Foundation seems to be an outlet for Meisha that allows them to
explore different aspects of what already appears. The result is sometimes
entrancing and sometimes head-bobbing. Overall, the songs that sound a bit
more put together appeal to me a bit more because they are taking advantage of
the full band situation and seem to define the band a bit more on its own
terms. The sound collages, while entrancing and very pretty, only put aside
what I really like about Arco and would fit bit better in the context of Meisha's music.
Perhaps those last statements are overly personal as I have known
Meisha for so long and feel that an overlap of styles is perhaps
unnecessary. At any rate, this album is extremely worthwhile and is an
enjoyable listen from beginning to end.
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