Another Andre Foisy project named after another non-genre horror film, Kwaidan is the result of adding a third and losing a decade, where Foisy joins Mike Weis and Neil Jendon, projecting the ethereal and organic in contrast to the speculative and synthetic of the recently-reviewed Eolomea tape (where Foisy partners with David Reed). Working to enclose rather than expand the sonic space, the single track of ‘Impala’ is dynamic yet cohesive, crowded like entrails by the insertion of the extra man into the performative cavity; whether referencing the sedan or the animal, it’s the same difference of organic solidarity and essence (though I guess the former implies room for passengers, these are better likened to parasites in the gut of this platonic ideal form). What stands out across the session is the discrete pebbling of Weis’ percussion – not all that different from his regular contributions as a member of Zelienople, but in this context it becomes the grain of old-growth dance and literature, the fog (ironically, given the ghostly theme) of electronic effects lifted; similarly, guitars are amplified clean, wistful as Roy Montgomery or Steven R. Smith or Loren Connors, making little allegories from the struggle inherent in every guitar chord. Synthesizers are cinematic, dressing environments more mental than physical, but brutally earnest, apropos of nothing fantastic (again, at least, in comparison to the epic ascension of Eolomea) but compelling as an exceptional instance. The overall effect is not far from a Godspeed track less the conductor-pundit’s heavy hand. 100 copies on yellow cassettes. An auspicious first release for this new label.
Accidental Guest
$6
HERE