Another sonic adventure from Discus finds Alex Ward‘s abilities on the various instruments used here being stretched to their limits. He plays everything here, and that covers guitar, bass, drums, woodwind, keyboards and various dizzying noisemakers. Not only is it an instrumental tour de force, but the musical styles that the album encompasses are varied in the extreme, bursting through: free jazz, metal, math rock and ambient drone, often with them all in one piece.
Gated is a fairly breathless listen with little opportunity for respite, and I find myself trying to picture the process of Alex recording the pieces section by section, playing over himself, over and over, pushing ever further as the tempo increases and the solos spiral out of control, speakers rattling. Spread across ten tracks, the shortest of which is two minutes, the longest eighteen, you don’t really know what to expect apart from a sensory overload. I am reminded of Jesus Lizard in places, but to some unexpected extreme; and then you may find yourself tripping down a psychedelic woodwind blowout next. It is quite something.
The two-minute opener “Heat Patch” is the ultimate jerk out of complacency; the woodwind flutters like a crazed moth as the drums push and parry, the guitar a brief explosion. It feels like a supremely compressed box full of elastic bands just waiting to burst or somebody gritting their teeth until they crack. It is that sort of intensity. The bass playing throughout is clean and concise, but twists and turns, trying to lose the drums that at times come on like a machine gun. Just when you think you might have the measure, a track like “Let” appears with its slightly atonal horns. It is soft-ish and a little hesitant in its atmosphere, the drums mellow and the cymbal wash surprisingly welcoming. There is a little metal in the ingredients on the album, with the staccato drumming of “Buyout” definitely of the speed variety; they have the power of a waterfall, and with the churning bass and eccentric guitar, there is no space whatsoever to even breathe, each second stuffed with sound. There is a little more room on “Hewn”, but then it is just over eighteen minutes long. The shimmer of the cymbals is deeply affecting here, but it is impossible to relax because you just don’t know what will happen next. One abstract section of industrial noise reminded me of a particular Don Caballero track, the one where it feels as if you have inadvertently wandered into a sawmill.I think there are some vibes on “Stilled” and they hang in the air, circling ever higher, just out of reach, as if picking the right moment to swoop; while “Cushioned” is a free combo of cheery piano and clarinet. It is full and vibrant, and even has a touch of Hammond, which adds some drama, and the whole piece is exhilarating and desperate in equal measure. It is part of the joy of the album, seeing what instruments will be gathered together on each track. Alex also loves that sense of hypnotic repetition that comes from hammering a single chord and not relenting, as if trying to overload the listener or see how much they can take. It reminds me a little of that Human Impact album that was released recently, but with so many more tributaries flowing into the raging torrent.
Gated is one of those records that gives up so much more every time you listen and that special feeling never grows old. You kind of have to take a deep breath and force yourself to relax once the album ends; and we all need that once in a while.-Mr Olivetti-
