Courier Sound main-man Stuart Bowditch has chosen to wade into the “how far can we push twenty-three tracks in twenty-three minutes?” debate with his own retort to Alien and Eumig. Trading as USRNM, Stuart’s twenty-three minutes are wildly diverse and also stray furthest from the format of twenty-three one minute pieces.
Recorded in 2018, these pieces range from literally seconds of sound through to three-minute opuses, and were somewhat of a salve during a period of emotional upheaval. Even in a twenty-three minute album, it is still possible for these sensations to be realised in sound. At times it is an uncomfortable journey, but one that is always worth taking.
There are joyous, buoyant vibes here and scuffed bass excursions across a distorted dancefloor there. A fine use of distortion is spread across the pieces, at times sounding like amplified gunfire and at others just as an ugly growl, lurking. A few seconds of screechy airplane take-offs simmer between high-pitched xylophone and the slice of steel merging with violently constricted beats. The air of tension is palpable in places; but then there is the relative calm of the emptiness of interstellar travel as we traverse the void, or the rubbing and tearing of vessels at sea. It can veer from ugliness to celestial beauty, and can shake the floor or ascend soporifically into the sky. Where the pieces are given the opportunity to stretch out (to a three minute or so mark), much ground is covered. There is something viciously satisfying about “Of Anywhere”, its ugly beats clashing with chimes, long and chattering as if trying to put somebody out of their misery. The jaunty pleasantries of “Dwindling Congregation” are the other boot; the calm of a long day, the beats containing a little frisson, some rebellion in the air. The two minutes are emotive and unsettling and that can be said about the whole thing.23 is a fascinating insight into an artist’s capabilities with such a constricted framework. It sits well with the previous two and we can only hope there will be more to follow. The packaging is lovely as ever and it is an intriguing, restless and diminutive work. Excellent.
-Mr Olivetti-
