There are several aspects of Scenes that make me feel nostalgic, starting from the moment I first held the physical edition in my hand. It’s a classic black jewel case CD-R with inserts straight out of the turn of the millennium—everything from the fonts and typography used to the specific shade of blue reminds me of early Troniks or Crionic Mind designs, or even some forgotten shoegaze disc on Projekt. The music itself also evokes a fondly remembered West Coast era, albeit in a fresh and unique way: this ambitious debut by brand-new local project Lily (Keegan Bonds-Harmon) stands out from the pack with an organic all-analog approach, echoing such classics as Instinct & Emotion and Blind Frenchies and Pork with its quiet mastering and glassy crunch. The two extended recordings (running thirteen and thirty-three minutes) sound like they underwent little to no editing, instead embracing the freeform drift of exploratory rehearsal sessions. “Stinging Air” is an impressive start, steadily growing in intensity as squealing tones twirl and twist around each other, with well-timed effects distorting and eventually shattering them into crystalline shards. The heavy use of mixer feedback makes Scenes right at home on the Robert Fuchs roster, but what sets this material apart is its psychedelic spaciousness; even at moments when there’s a lot going on, there’s still so much room to spare. Much of “Dreams Collide” is quite sparse, with a few almost noodly bits that strip the action down to the simple turning of a knob or two—and even what sounds like some FM radio scrubbing—before the track follows through on its title and an icy hell breaks loose. This is noise that deserves rapt attention on a good stereo or set of headphones. Each listen has me eager for another. Bonds-Harmon has a clear vision on his first release that some artists are still searching for on their tenth.
Copies are available from the label via email: robert.c.fuchs@gmail.com.
Noise Not Music 