The insert that comes with the latest beautifully presented cassette from Courier Sound (both the cassette and outer cover are plum coloured) describes the sounds contained therein as “trying to capture and reimagine the healing process through repetition and sonic imperfection”.
Each piece on Slow Clinic‘s Over And Over Until We Forget Where We Were takes that familiar view, but highlights certain aspects or renders them in varying shades, the tones unfolding at an elegiac pace. It can be like a slow monochromatic kaleidoscope at points, and the tones, admitted by their creator James Edward Armstrong to be inherently flawed, can evoke anything from brushed metal to distant, wordless voices.
The torpor that is contained within a lot of these pieces is that of slow repair; they would be perfect accompaniment to a sensory deprivation chamber, the mild lapping like waves on a deserted beach seen in thorough but glazed detail. The freedom from rhythm allows the pieces to inhabit your mind and there is something similar to viewing large abstract paintings; that sense of openness and liberty. Some of the pieces do move at more of a pace with an inner vibrancy that hints at positive, more uplifting possibilities and that does change the feel; but generally, there is a lugubrious air with sounds that at points resemble a cello, and that portentous sway is offset by a gently searing background.This juxtaposition between what is happening at the forefront and the unsteady mystery in the backdrop is part of the appeal. It is the final track that ultimately jerks the tears with the perfect selection of guitar notes (I think) flooding the synapses and drawing the listener away and downwards, its magnificent resonance and background wash merging delightfully.
-Mr Olivetti-
