‘Light Poured Out of Our Bones’ is the first collaboration of electro-scene veterans Aaron Martin and Justin Wright. Five tracks of cosmic psychedelic, if that ain’t too redundant for you, spelled-out over 40 breezy minutes. Though the title might suggest a more maximal, wall-like sound (I seem to recall something with a similar title coming from Aidan Baker a few years back), the image of light pouring from bones is less forthcoming from these methodical and delicately-paced tracks. Wright provides a vision-swirl of synthesized soot like galactic images, familiar to his work as Expo 70 – if toned-down significantly for the sake of sharing the dialog. Martin, conversely, brings with him an array of instruments and the sounds they conform, which contrast beautifully against the crackle and hum of the synthesizer drone. While the mass of the sonic materials appears to come from Wright’s patches, there are austere little leads monogrammed here and there which really trump the interaction at stake: the Steven R. Smithian guitar riff of “Brush Fire”, twanging-off a suspended jag of metallic distortion; the gothic organ of “Sleep Threaded into Ashes” transitioned starkly into a tight jangle of strings; and the saw of cello de-masked as a knobby chord from behind a shimmer of bowls and ringing tones. In between, it’s very much Expo 70, particularly “Moon Smoke” which in its entirety could well have been excerpted from Wright’s Sonic Mediations label. As a finale, the 11-minute title-track goes for broke, seeming to integrate every sound of the disc – at times, all at once – in an exceedingly-electrified jubilee of synth loops, punched up with arrhythmic shaker percussion inducing trails over the hot buzz. Something of a residue of debut collaborations, such kitchen sink tracks feel like the final “fuck it” of a sitting. These often taste of regret when sequels appear. This is a pair slotted for some such regret. The sixth and final installment for the series Circa 2011, preferably not the final from this duo. 300 copies on pro-press CDs with heavy paper inserts. Recommended.
Preservation CD
$14.5
HERE