This is a lovely, lovely record--nice to listen to and with helpful song
titles (comprised of the instruments that make up the music). For
instance, the opening track, "Melodica and Trombone," is, largely, warm,
layered tones played on a melodica, interspersed with some plaintive
trombone (tambourines and assorted percussion also accompany). Each track
features a different assortment of instruments--mixing up modern with
traditional, and digital with analog--but maintains a consistent overall
tone, which proves the album's title to not be, as might be expected,
ironic. The vibe through all of these pieces is not the agitation of rock
music, or the frenetic drive of electronic music, or the antiseptic
difficulty of experimental music. It is one of harmony.
That consistency is remarkable, given the range in which the band is
working. "Cut Up Piano and Xylophone" is a heavily processes piece that
achieves a very liquid electronic sound; the pianos ascend and the
xylophones descend, punctuated by the whirs and clicks of the edits. Yet
it is so smooth that one might never have guessed at the percussive
origins of the sounds. "Drum Bass Sonics and Edit" is a bit more edgy,
built around live drums and bass guitar, as the titular sonics (pulses,
static, tinkles, spacey keyboard riffs, and so forth) pop up and
disappear. The varied sounds that float in and out stretch the song's
boundaries, which are really almost entirely open as the only consistency
is the rhythm section, but it never looses its focus. It's a track that
could have been included on the For Carnation's full length.
My favorite track has got to be "Drum Machines and Glockenspiels," which
is, needless to say, heavily rhythmic, and reminiscent of the other German
post-electronic music, like Tarwater (on their earlier, better
records) and To Rococo Rot. The digital and acoustic coexist in perfect
symbiosis, together working a laid back, organic groove, with just of
touch of dub. As the track progresses and more is added to the mix, the
energy increases, and the structure breaks open into a freer form. But
that initial rhythmic groove, anchored in deep electric bass, always
provides a solid, sturdy foundation.
Though this music is not necessarily easy--as instruments come and go, the
song structures bend and break to accommodate them--it is never difficult
to listen to. What Fridge may lack in terms of challenging the listener,
they more than make up for in musicianship and songwriting. The fact that
I have returned to this record so many times in the short time that I have
had it is testament to its success. I find that I play it not just
because I love the music, but because of the feeling that it creates in my
home. After all, what is happiness but the unlikely harmony that we
create between the varied and disparate elements of our lives?
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