Five Way Mirror - Transcendence
(Burnt Hair)
Five Way Mirror has Windy and Carl with the addition of Greg Gasiorowski
heading in a little less tranquil direction. As the title Transcendence would
suggest, it still features songs that are blissful and, of course, transcendent
(like the work of Windy and Carl). Added to this tranquility, however, is an
underlying disturbance. The difference, perhaps, comes as a result of the
addition of Gasiorowski's electronics, but also due to the more brooding
guitar work by Windy and Carl.
From the beginning of the album, there is a sort of "calm before the storm"
feel. Just underneath the familiar guitar work of Carl Hultgren lies a sort of
foreshadowing of something less peaceful. The beginning track "four is green"
features amidst the beautiful (but slightly agitated) guitar work of Windy and
Carl a strong electronic beat, punctuated by bleeps that sound like a dial tone.
The beats and bleeps complement the brooding guitar work by adding a little
urgency and edge to the mix.
Another highlight of the album is "sleeping to technology 1." Underlying a
progressively overpowering guitar drone and beat is a distant, echoing keyboard
voice that sounds like it comes from under water. Another favorite is
"repeating dreams to someone new" which features a more traditional Windy and
Carl guitar part over the top of a subtle electronic current that sounds
something like submarine sonar or distant whale calls. Five Way Mirror explore
similar territory as bands like Amp and Tomorrowland, but they do it in such a
distinctive and evocative way. The electronics are a perfect complement to the
guitar and loop work of Windy and Carl, and have pushed them in a somewhat new,
but very interesting direction. This tendency towards brooding is certainly
evident in the last Windy and Carl album Depths, and I will hope to see its
continuation not only in subsequent Windy and Carl releases but in subsequent
releases by Five Way Mirror (which I hope are in the works).
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