New Zealand's other preeminent drone soundsmith Alastair Galbraith
has returned from the shed with 13 more four-track creations in his latest
album Cry. His palette of sound is unlike any other artist, his main
instruments being violin, bagpipes, softly spoken lyrics, organ, and
backwards-played guitar. Through much tape manipulation, Galbraith is able
to further expand these tones to create a rich, dark aura.
To say Galbraith plays these instruments is to simplify things to the point
where it loses meaning, as Galbraith does not strive to get standard,
pretty sound out of them. Instead, he bends and stretches his instruments,
particularly his violin, finding as much use for a screeched or strained
tone as a pure one. "Wish" finds him making much (ab)use of his violin,
starting off jittery and about to burst (both the strings and in emotion)
before calming down and smoothing out. In "Meatwork," he turns to his guitar,
stretching each note as far it will go as a tape loop of manipulated
guitar repeats for rhythm, creating one of the best tracks on the album.
While using tape manipulation to play his guitar backwards has become somewhat
of a trademark for Galbraith, for instance on "From the Empire," creating
a sound that lulls you to sleep with each note before bursting loudly at the
note's ending, matching the whispered lyrics. However, he does the exact
opposite on "Lull and Make it Snow," this time the spoken words recorded
backwards and the guitar straight.
Galbraith is able to create very personal, emotional music by using this
intimate recording technique. As such, his music is more like feelings oozing
from his soul than thoughts flowing from his mind, separating him from a lot
of other artists in this area. Naturally then, the album's title, Cry, says
a lot about the type of music here; it is much like a dark cloud hovering
over you. Galbraith does fit in one bright, semi-pop song though, "One Method"
using a bouncing organ and steady drum machine beat, "holding out for a happy
ending." The perfect drone music for a rainy day.
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