People Of The North – Sub Contra
(Thrill Jockey)
LP
10 June 2013
It’s always
difficult to review an album when you can’t really stick the artist into any
particular genre, and this is one of them.
Oneida members Kid Millions on drums and Bobby Matador on everything
else make music which is particularly hard to define. It’s also pretty hard on the ears in so much
that some of the work doesn’t quite flow and lacks some cohesive quality.
People Of
The North should certainly be applauded for originality, but sometimes
originality isn’t all that is required.
Album opener Drama Class is over nine minutes of improvised sounded
percussion, in fact much of the album could almost be improvised, drums
constantly merge with electronics which seem to act independently. It’s almost psychedelic sounding and there’s
an element of darkness and enforced horror.
At over nine minutes long is maybe just that little too much to be
appreciated to any great degree.
Sub Contra
parts 1 and 2 are again mind blowing, but, not necessarily in a positive way.
It’s certainly different, and in parts very entertaining, but the album as a
whole tends to stick in one placed and struggles to emerge out of it. The fifth and final track, the opus that is
Osange Orange, is again much percussion courtesy of Mr Millions and admittedly
it’s powerful stuff. The synthesizers
fade in and out in an almost ambient way moving to and fro in a really
interesting way. It’s by far the best track on the album, but,
again at well over fourteen minutes long, it’s too much.
Not a bad
album bad far, but equally not great.
Maybe as a soundtrack album it would find its strength, but, as
listening pleasure, it isn’t really cutting it for me.
7/10
Links
Published on Louder Than War 10/06/13 - here
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