Vibracathedral Orchestra - Dabbling With Gravity and Who Are You
(VHF)
Neil Campbell and his Vibracathedral Orchestra have been making a raucous storm out of Leeds for a few years now. It seems like they've had a glut of releases, with a few albums and numerous singles and compilation appearances. Last year's Versatile Arab Chord Chart was one of the finest discs of collective dronegazing I've heard in a long time. This year's VHF followup (not counting the live Hot Booty CDR) is a more heated affair, with the 5-piece band playing in a frenzy. Percussive clashes support the varied noodling, all recorded with a "rough" feel to it, though this is not distorted or "harsh" drone music at all.
Perhaps Versatile Arab Chord Chart was a bit more approachable because this roughness wasn't as evident. The playing was no less aggressive, but the musicians seemed to all speak from the same consciousness. Here, it sounds like sound battles are being fought throughout the disc. There's still a lot to get lost in, but it’s not as safe of a journey. It sounds a bit more like their Giardia release, Lino Hi, than the last VHF release (alhough none of their releases are remarkably different from one other).
Each track sketches out a feeling just long enough to get you comfortable. A deep, warm drone rests behind everything, a drone that remains constant throughout all of the Orchestra's work. Even the more meditative pieces on this disc, like "He Play All Day Long," are filled with a relentless energy that give the Orchestra a sensation of "fun." I can imagine them running around the room while they play, and that's a nice image that you don't get from most other music of this type.
Some Eastern instruments are heard on here, although no instrumentation is credited, so it's anybody's guess as to what they are (sitar?). Moments of some pieces resemble Pelt's more organic side, though with more percussion. Most tracks are very rhythmically regular, sometimes even trancelike. Overall, it's another solid record by the Orchestra, though nothing they haven't done before. Fans of this type of energetic improvised music will find a lot to enjoy here, and on the many Vibracathedral releases surely to come.
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