English, Lawrence / Cruel Optimism
Album: Cruel Optimism   Collection:General
Artist:English, Lawrence   Added:Mar 2017
Label:Room 40  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2017-03-08 Pull Date: 2017-05-10 Charts: Classical/Experimental
Week Ending: Apr 16 Mar 19 Mar 12
Airplays: 1 1 2

Recent Airplay
1. Jul 26, 2018: subwoofer etc etc etc
Requiem For A Reaper / Pillar Of Cloud, Crow, Hammering A Screw
4. Mar 18, 2017: Reckless Burning
Hard Rain
2. Sep 21, 2017: Neural facilitation
Hard Rain
5. Mar 11, 2017: Reckless Burning
Moribund Territories
3. Apr 15, 2017: Reckless Burning
Object Of Projection
6. Mar 11, 2017: Music Casserole
Somnambulist

Album Review
DJ Aporia
Reviewed 2017-03-08
On Lawrence English’s newest LP for Room 40, desolate drones and voices layer over each other to create a maximal wall of sound. Taking inspiration from the theoretical text “Cruel Optimism” by Lauren Berlin, at heart this is an evocative meditation on the role of power in human obsession and fragility. The list of collaborators is long and impressive, and includes Thor Harris, Norman Westberg, and Heinz Riegler to name a few. Astonishing release.

Related: Taylor Deupree, Tim Hecker ‘Ravedeath, 1972’, Villages

1. (5:30) * Hard Rain—Dense, blinding wall of sound.
2. (2:40) The Quietest Shore—Ominous drone, chimes. Extended fade.
3. (1:36) * Hammering a Screw—Apocalyptic noise from God. Play with the next track.
4. (3:15) Crow—Gregorian chant obscured beneath dense waves of drone.
5. (3:20) * Requiem for a Reaper / Pillar of Cloud—Extremely soft drone, changes midway to something ascendant.
6. (3:10) * Exquisite Human Microphone—Peaceful, distant bowing.
7. (4:45) * Object of Projection—Roaring, billowing noise. Gentle subtler tones spread gradually.
8. (4:18) Negative Drone—Ominous fluttering strings, woodwinds. Long fade.
9. (5:59) * Somnambulist—Foghorn opening. Deep, gorgeous, subterranean drone.
10. (4:23) * Moribund Territories—Slow, melancholy. Voices steadily surface and fade away.

Track Listing
1. Hard Rain   6. Exquisite Human Microphone
2. The Quietest Shore   7. Object Of Projection
3. Hammering A Screw   8. Negative Drone
4. Crow   9. Somnambulist
5. Requiem For A Reaper / Pillar Of Cloud   10. Moribund Territories