Released
1998
Label
Perimeter Sound Arts
Reviewed by
Kim Alexander
Visit
Moth
Last Edit/Update
26 January, 1999
Moth
Lush Places
Works from
Adam Larson
Track Listing
1. Grain of Sand 7:12
2. Angels in Lockdown 6:53
3. August Still 5:57
4. A Position of Weakness 6:43
5. Alchemical 5:38
6. the Body Electric 7:02
7. Space Case 12:50
8. Angels in Lockdown II 6:20
9. Candle 5:02
Dark, brooding and pensive is the mood and voice of
"Grain of Sand", a powerful experimental ambient track. Soft synth work,
deep gurgling samples and wavey drones with warm bells chiming in from time to time set a
dream-like quality to the track. "Angels in Lockdown" is one of my
favourite tracks on this release. It has a quick tempo, eerie synth drone in the
background, soft crashes and whirls that moves into some single key work. The
percussion is rolling loops of bass drum, rather march-like, the kind that reminds me of a
horse galloping along in a field of tall grass on a sunny warm summer's day minutes before
a splendid sunset. This track sounds like a blend between Autechre and Scorn,
two of my favourite bands...
"August Still" is a bit lighter, more contemporary and
is a blend of cocktail lounge music and techno-edge electro. It has very good stereo
qualities (I'm listening with headphones). "A Position of Weakness" leans
to the experimental side of noise and sampling, still quite soft and gentle, while
"Alchemical" is a blend of dark techno-experimental synth...a real tasty track
with lots of things going on with samples, loops, strange bleeps, blurbs and an superior
dance beat, (kind of Orbish).
Beginning with a looped ticking in "The Body Electric", a
male's voice as if sent through some mysterious time warp, the ticking increases with the
percussion, looped effects move in and out of the piece, drums increase in timbre, dark
bass and keys smooth out the composition. It's a dark Techno-experimental blend, and
a great track.
"Space Case" is a very dark (experimental-
sequenceing) ambient piece of drone and reflects the title, while in contrast,
"Angels in Lockdown ii" is in the vein of Scorn meets The Orb, a
delicious piece of work.
"Candle", brings out a solemn and uneasy feeling with
dark ambient swirls, samples of synth and an ominous church bell(s) tolling in the
background. Someone die?
Moth is thoughtful, deep, warm and seems to convey
messages about the world around us and how they seem to affect Mr. Larson in terms of his
creating music to express such things. Lush Places is great music to drift away
from a long day of work and just relax or as background music. You could also
meditate in these Lush Places depending on how you like to find harmony in your
life, this release has a good share of high quality aural landscapes for the listener to
escape within and explore.
