Valis by Psychic Enemies Network

In the making of valis, the Thorne brothers were in the unenviable position of having to meet the high standard set by their self-titled debut CD. I do not find the debut as dark, bleak, and desolate as other reviewers have. If I had to choose a phrase that characterizes the debut, it would be "filled with anxiety." Perhaps the final track on the debut, "In Its Streets," is despairing: but it is my favorite track on that album. Valis is different. If the debut and valis were siblings, valis would be the crankier. But valis does not disappoint.

"Tilted Earth" is the Thornes' masterpiece. It evokes the primitive and the animal. It is a night in the wilderness filled with the deafening roar of beasts in the distance. Is David Chapman's trumpet playing the parts of the beasts? or whales, for that matter? What sounds like wind chimes becomes almost 11 minutes later white noise that, when lifted, reveals a complicated pattern of notes played on the steel drum. All this and vocals anchored by nifty percussion is entrancing. "Sandfall" is a lovely, rhythmically satisfying racket. Gathering steam in a hurry, it combines something that sounds like a harpsichord with vocals and watery instrumentation-guitar? Eventually, one hears a sound that is difficult to describe: imagine bells recorded in a bathroom and played back on a small amplifier turned up to 10. For someone like me, an easily identifiable instrument on valis is welcome. Chapman returns on "valis" with a sound the source of which is unmistakable-his trumpet. His playing is gorgeous.

"Bowl Cut" is an oddball. It sounds like two a.m. stations tuned in at the same time, one playing an ominous sound sprinkled with the sound of bells of some kind, the other playing a groovy, jazzy keyboard solo accompanied by John giving his drum kit a disciplined beating. As on the debut album's "Drawn" the listener is rewarded with a recording of Matt's solo guitar work, which is always a treat. Roughly halfway through, after songs ranging from 11:17 to 6:18 in length, the Thornes supply a light and amusing breather, "Radio Free Albemuth (Altman)." Here they splice together a lot of drums and percussion in a manner that brings to mind turning the dial of a radio. Slowing down and speeding up of the recordings, as well as the splicing, brings early Zappa to mind.

One reviewer said that the debut CD is like "a very strange dream where old memories pop up, linger, and then drift past." Valis is very much like that. But even though the tone of the dream is different, it is a dream very much worth having.

by Rodney Cupp, Department of Philosophy, University of Nebraska at Lincoln

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