brian_and_chris - Vectors
(Megalon)
A vector is a logical representation of the combination of magnitude and
direction. One could consider music to be a collection of several
different vectors, each movement by each instrument represented by one
vector that when added together compose a single, unified whole, creating a
song. The listener can usually only hear the unified whole, the individual
parts being deemphasized for the sake of the final sum. For brian_and_chris'
second album, titled Vectors, the band provides a full study of the vectors
that create their music.
Two of the songs come from the same set of vectors heard on the band's
self-titled debut album of soundtrack music when the band was more or less
a studio project. While it was hard to believe the music on the band's
debut was soundtrack material, the two songs presented here fit that
description a bit better. "Northward Nimbus" starts at a slow, steady
pace and never varies from it, letting the simple keyboard melodies play
and prance around the insistent drumming, occasionally making way for
washes of guitar. The piece is a fairly accurate description of early
morning when the rest of the world doesn't seem to be awake yet--everything
seeming to move at slow motion--the only time of day the chirping
birds and windblown trees overpower the cars and people. "Eyelids of
Bodhidharma" starts off similarly slowly and quietly, with only the pitter
patter of piano and odd percussion with odd, nonsensical spoken lyrics.
Eventually, the song erupts into frenzily-paced drum and bass with a
mijwiz (an Arabic double-pipe, single reed clarinet-like instrument) being
played in the background, recalling some of the better directions taken on the
band's previous album.
As the direction and magnitude of each instrument would represent a vector of
music, each musician would form a collection of those vectors. Two of the songs
on the album represent Brian Fraser and Chris Palmatier's solo compositions,
separating one of the pair's vectors from the other to see how that alters the
style of music created. One of these songs, "Pristina," turns out to be
the group's prettiest song yet, due in large part to the baby talk singing
from guest Jennifer Tait, sounding like an opera singer's attempt at
mellow jazz cooing. Except for a bit of crackling percussion in the
background, the music for the song is largely just guitar and bass that
build and decay in tandem, creating waves of rhythm and sound that, along
with the vocals, have a very calming, soothing effect on the listener.
Two of the eight songs on the album take songs from the band's debut
album of soundtrack music and let remixers Jhno and Antimatter
decompose the music into its basic, elemental vectors and then rearrange
those parts to create new, electronica music. Jhno takes the song "Jakarta
International Airport" and turns it into an ambient trance and dance track,
picking up the pace of the percussion and bass but slowing down the guitar so
it is only a glacial, plodding progression of whole notes. Antimatter takes
the song "The Science of Vectors" and uses very similar techniques, again
speeding up the percussion and bringing it to the foreground. The guitar part,
though, is largely left alone, sounding the same as in the original song just
appearing at different locations. Less suitable for trancing or dancing,
Antimatter's song is the type of techno that uses so much percussion and
studio trickery that it must be listened to with headphones on and the lights
turned off, so the listener can fully concentrate on each vector of sound.
As those six songs all take parts of the band's sound heard on their debut
album and present them from different viewpoints, the last two songs
on the album provide a glimpse of the new direction of the band, as Brian
and Chris' vectors of music have been joined by those from two other musicians,
Tom Petersen and Jeff Van Earwage. The sum of these four people's input
is a style of music different than anything heard on the self titled debut,
joining bands like Oxes and The Champs in the new Don Caballero-cum-Van Halen
metal revolution of independent rock. While the searing guitars put the songs
heavily into the metal category, the strong basslines and intermittent use
of melody from the second guitarist are used often enough to keep the songs
from sounding too harsh or abrasive. Considering their debut used so many
instruments and styles, this type of music seems like a good, natural way for
brian_and_chris to continue to branch out, however, these two songs are not
quite as interesting or unique as their previous material.
With only one album under their belt, Vectors is an odds-and-sods collection
that shows a variety of musics created from arranging and rearranging the
vectors that form the basis of brian_and_chris. The music runs the gamut
from heavy-hitting metal to gorgeous, sunny cooing to danceable grooves.
By the end of their career, there may be no style of music brian_and_chris
haven't mastered.
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