Going into Bituminous Concrete Curb Detail I did not expect the level of fidelity and sound design that immediately and loudly makes itself known in distortion-wracked opener “Not to Scale” and remains, in various forms, throughout the remaining six tracks. I’ll admit I had expectations based on what I have previously heard on Ayurvedic, a small batch label initially launched by Seamus Williams to release his first recordings as TVE, which all seemed to worship the bottommost dregs of analog tape noise. And that was before I knew that the material for fellow Worcester, MA resident Mickey O’Hara’s latest on the imprint was produced via a custom framework in SuperCollider. But it’s not that Curb Detail doesn’t belong on the venerable imprint, something that “14” Gravel Base,” one of two lengthier pieces, wastes no time in asserting with its expansive soundscape that could easily pass as scuttling basement concrète punctuated by fraught yawns of audible emptiness. Both the digital toolbelt and the CD-R format make room for a little less dust and a little more detail, and O’Hara takes full advantage of this with each enthralling composition; this is a well-structured and consistently engaging album. Even as it proceeds at a rather reticent pace there are always moments of surprise: the throttled, writhing textures of “Hey (Slab)” evoke those of a certain power electronics project, “330 Crickets” powers up into full-on glitch mode, and I swear those are humans making some of those sounds in “Musty Sheet no. c7.0.” There’s something for everyone, clearly, but in the interest of recommendation, fans of Christian Mirande, Mysterious House, or some of the more electronics-heavy Vitrine releases will definitely feel right at home. The more I play this one the more it’s shaping up to be a favorite of the whole year.
Ayurvedic orders are placed/fulfilled via email: seamusrwilliams@gmail.com.
Noise Not Music 