distance by Austere/In The Now

A Quirky Collaboration That Crosses Several GenresWinkJunior wrote on June 27, 2007

Reviewer: Jack The Tab (Ambient Review) A 4-track EP with enough quirkiness to drive you insane (in a good way.) Overall this is a nice pace considering the barrage of techno/electronica out these days. The EP stands out on its own, if only to strive for a different sound.

Mexican Standoff: Ambient, Glitch & Drum-n-Bass - Who'll Live?Austere wrote on July 01, 2007

Reviewer: Wayne Dolman I'm writing this about a year and a half after I first received the CD from the band for review due to a personal hiatus and because to be honest, at first I really didn't get it. Up to the point this CD was released, Austere had been releasing a fairly steady stream of minimalist and ambient recordings, sequestered away in hiding, exploring and never repeating the same sort of thing twice, albeit it's almost impossible not to recognize an Austere track when you hear one... and then this. I decided to check in with them about it to see if they still wanted it reviewed, and found that they were very disappointed in how poorly it had been selling and had been received. "We pretty much alienated 99.9% of whatever you might call our listener base..." they reported, obviously dismayed. So I had to immediately throw it back on for another listen. And indeed, I can see why that is, although it's really a great loss for those who just want to stay strictly within the ambient realm and whose tastes are fairly narrow and well-defined, because this is something Completely Different. First off, it was a collaboration, the first for both bands, and a long distance one at that (hence the title) with a fine musician from the UK releasing material as "In The Now", mostly glitchy, percussive electronica tracks with odd time signatures similar to some of the work of Matmos, Monolake, Pole, Plaid and others... a very unlikely wedding of styles and tastes one would think, but therein lies the unappreciated brilliance of this CD. The best way to describe this four track disc is akin to the makings of a perfect sidecar: there's the rich flavor of brandy, the sweetness of triple sec and a sugared rim, the sour of lemon juice and the tart of the oil from the peel, all coming together as a blend of tastes that somehow all stand apart yet work together to create a much, much greater whole. Such is it with "distance": the ambient washes and sweeping, complex and ever-evolving synth lines that are very much Austere, over which play oddly-timed percussive crunchy bits, most of which sounds nothing like a standard drum sound, real or sampled, a signature sound of In The Now. But with these basics from both bands are interesting organic sounding bits that act as choruses and refrains, little synths riffs and pads that work within the structure of each song, and even elements of drum-n-bass, although pitched down to half speed or slower, no 150 BPM action here. And quel horreur for the ambient purist, plenty of clicky, crunchy, chunky beats in every track, and even a dubby, funky bass line in "austerity". And the results? Something treading all sorts of lines by combining elements one would just assume to be completely at odds with each other into a cohesive whole that somehow manages to never allow any one element to dominate, except for brief moments where appropriate, and then only to tease. This isn't an easy nor obvious CD, and in some ways is destined to be the weird kid that doesn't fit into any clique, not even the nerds, and not only gets picked last for the game, it's often completely forgotten altogether. And therein lies the beauty, in that the genius of both bands come together in ways that don't necessarily make sense, but never cease to work. Every track on this all-too-brief EP is brilliant and has a sound unlike anything this reviewer has heard before. And unlike the aforementioned bands who do something well and stick to it, this doesn't sound anything like an Austere or In The Now CD. It is completely and utterly its own unique thing, a niche with a population of one. For those willing to step outside their boundaries or who think most new music tends to just quickly fall into a rut, this CD proves there's always new places to go if musicians are truly interested in their art and constantly exploring and pursuing their muse. This isn't ambient music at all; you can't ignore it, and if anything it's good head music (thus the problem with how brief it is.) It sounds tight and expansive, large yet accessible, and is amazingly produced as are all the projects Austere is involved with... and unlike their ambient works preceeding this, this is a release that not only grabs your attention, it absolutely demands it and doesn't let go until the CD ends. To try and describe the songs does not do them justice. My guess is that either this is one of those wonderful gems that will lay buried, never to be discovered, or something that years from now someone will find and wonder how they managed to miss it as they marvel in how far ahead of its time it was when it came out, and probably still will be even later. Hats off to In The Now and Austere for creating something this reviewer can see is truly a "classic" in every sense of the word. Hopefully others will have the good taste and fortunate to discover it as I have, and let it spin your head around a few times before, like any carnival ride, ending too soon. If I have one criticism of this release, it's that it's too short, and I can only hope that both parties involved can be convinced to work on a full CD some time in the future. But until then, this is living in my CD player for awhile. Amen. -- Wayne Dolman, Jan 2002

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