Tom Carter - Monument
(Kranky)
Now, to be honest, it took me a long time to appreciate the Charalambides' music. Having seen them several times in the past 4 years and never really getting into their brand of deconstructive drone, it didn't surprise me that their records also didn't do it for me. But, after causing great upheaval in my personal life by way of moving across the country into an isolated environment, I happened to listen to their contribution to Time Lag's tribute to Popul Vuh LP. And I got it. Finally. The antisocial, isolationist, mournful drones perfectly suited my state of mind.
Luckily for me, Kranky has started to reissue those long-out-of-print releases that I'd passed up countless times. Hopefully they won't stop until the complete Charalambides (and related solo and side projects) back catalog is widely available.
Tom Carter's Monument is a staggering document of the improvisational skill he has cultivated over the years. Consisting of, in essence, one 47-minute opus, "Monument 2," which goes deep, deep into the furthest reaches of the heart of ambience. There is a second track, but it's just over 2 minutes, and hardly audible, aside from perhaps a subconscious warmup for the real attraction.
"Monument 2" evolves into dense and somewhat loud tones and slowly falls back into teetering, minimal drone pulses. Listened to casually, it is gentle and flowing. But turn the volume up and you'll be swept away into dark, lonely waters.
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