-──────────────── ▄██▄ ────────
▀█████▄
-── ███ ███ ─ ▄██▄ ▀█████▄ ────
▐███ ███▌ ▀██▀ ▄██████▄
-─ ████ ████ ▄▄▄ ▄██████████▄
▐█████████▌ ███▌▐████▀ ▀████▀
███████████ ████ ██▀ ─── ▀▀
▐█████ █████▌▐███ ▀
██████ ██████ ▀██ ──────────
███████ ███████▄ █ -.2ooo.-
─────── ▄▄▄ ────────────────
"HiGH ▀ iNTELLiGeNCE tRoLLS"
_______________________________________________________________________
a r t i s t : The Necks
t i t l e : Drive By
d a t e : 2003
l a b e l : Morphius 176
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Jan/2004
t r a c k s : 01
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 79,4 MB
_______________________________________________________________________
Here at Aquarius, you might say that 2003 could have been
called The Year Of The Necks. Sure, that sounds a bit funny,
but what we mean is that this year is when everybody here
either discovered or re-discovered this amazing band. We gave
rave reviews to four of their older records, after falling in
love with a four-cd live box of theirs back in December of last
year. And judging from sales, a lot of you have gotten
acquainted with The Necks this year as well, and liked 'em.
This Aussie trio of piano (and/or organ), bass, and drums can't
be easily catagorized: they're not exactly jazz, not ambient,
not rock, not post-rock, not electronica...but they are some of
the above, and more. Less too, 'cause what they do is so
understated, and so specifically Necks.
So, what better way is there to celebrate The Year Of The Necks
'round these parts than to revel in the release of this brand
new Necks opus, Drive By? And it's definitely the equal of any
of The Necks' prodigious output, doing all the things we now
expect from them...creating a mesmerizing, hypnotic musical
trance-state over a lengthy playing time (in this case, one
track, 60 minutes and seventeen gorgeous seconds long). Drive
By is a pulsating wonder, steadily building over an hour, the
drums becoming more active and restless but always "on",
underpinning the constant throb of the bass. Drive By is
bejewelled with bright tinkling piano, electronic effects, and
other sonic elements, including what sound like crickets
joining in around the 11 minute mark. 45+ minutes later, The
Necks are still in the groove, channelling ancient rhythm into
their extremely modern format. I'm beginning to think that the
compact disc is too limiting for these guys. They need a DVD-
audio release, so we can hear 'em play for seven hours
straight!
So, what comparisons can we stretch to make? Some sort of NPR-
ized Circle? A prettified Bohren? Steve Reich meets Miles
Davis? Ah, hell with that. It's The Year Of The Necks. No
comparisons necessary. Just check 'em out.
AMG:
The latest effort by Australia's super trio the Necks is a
darkly swirling journey into sound that encompasses jazz, rock,
and hypnotic grooves, all organically played without loops or
samples, to brilliant effect. Like a mirror image of Manuel
Gottsching's classic E2-E4, Drive By is one long track ù over
60 minutes. It unfolds gradually. Chris Abrahams keyboards
create the pulse that is gradually taken over by Lloyd
Swanton's bass line. It's less than a handful of notes that
creates the effect, but the layering of Tony Buck's drumming,
and Abrahams multi-textured keyboards over the framework, is
positively mind-bending, this is only ten minutes into the
piece! The dynamic is controlled and channeled through the
middle, keeping the vibe of the piece moody, dark, and full of
a controlled menace that gives way to a dreamy, shimmering
gloss of ether and darkness. Great washes of synth sound come
undulating through the backdrop intermittently, organ riffs
course in contrapuntal rhythmic lines against Buck's ever
prominent bass line, and a piano slithers through almost
imperceptibly, as its seemingly random placement is off-kilter
and ever surprising. The sense of relaxed ambivalence grows
exponentially in the listener, though very gradually. By the
time it ends, there is nothing but a mantra of excess for the
pulse itself, and a warped sense of time and space echoing in
the listening room, pervading every surface inner, outer, and
secret. Sleep isn't recommended, though an overwhelming sense
of dream prevails. This is a remarkable, resoundingly brilliant
album: that from such restraint so much flows. There are
literally nuanced sonic universes contained here, all of them
subtle, all of them uncoiling with elegance and steamy tension;
they give way to a release that is unmentionably beautiful and
seductively sinister.
_______________________________________________________________________
01-Drive By [60:17]
-------
60:17 min
_______________________________________________________________________