Flutes & Voices

Dick, Robert & Thomas Buckner
Mutablemusic
General | Dec 2010

Reviews

tyler haddow
Reviewed 2011-12-10
Review by Tyler Haddow 12/18/11

Some of the furthest out-there improvisation you’ll find. Barren, organic. This album is filled with desperate, panicked, and bizarre sounds; yet, somehow, it seems almost entirely devoid of human feeling. These ambitious nihilists took it upon themselves to PROVE-- by way of sound-- the radical emptiness of... everything. There is no “whole” (album, song, melody, etc.); there are only series of musical moments. The vocalist’s pipes are rich and grandiose at points, which makes it all the more unnerving. Recommended if you have a principled contempt for existence. No FCC’s. Track reviews on the inside.

Asterisks indicate recommended tracks.

1. (6:09) Pained moaning and other creepy mouth noises develop alongside tribal percussion. Flutes enter in last two minutes.
2. (7:03) Fragmented and panicky (sometimes operatic) vocals. Dark, desperate.
3. (9:18) Lots of short sections, all different. Sharp flute squeals; mouth experiments; minimalist moaning; more mouth experiments.
4. ***(7:38) More absurdity. Develops into disjointed melodic vocal/flute interplay.
5. (4:02) Rough, nasally squealing with some delightfully odd percussion.
6. (4:23) More melodic. Actually takes a concrete form toward the end.
7. ***(3:47) Sedated moaning erupts into vocal insanity.
8. (4:56) A fitting end. Crazed gasping/snorting and flute squeals.

Recent airplay

Certain Gravities
Ghost TreesJan 30, 2012
Bones Of The Tongue
Songs: CantanJan 14, 2012
Makemake
Memory SelectDec 23, 2011

Charting

2011-12-18 — 2012-02-19 Classical/Experimental
Week EndingAirplays
Feb 5 1
Jan 15 1
Dec 25 1

Track listing

1. In The Land Of Perfect Days
2. Bones Of The Tongue
3. Broadcasted Alive
4. Certain Gravities
5. We Are The Walrus
6. The Bird On The Scene Says Yes
7. Takeout Karma
8. Makemake