‘92982’
by William Basinski
label: 2062
genre: memory reels
suitable for: Sept. 29, 1982

From the composer himself: “Home at last after a day of work at the answering service. Answering phones for Calvin Klein, Bianca Jagger, Steve Rubell and all the other somebody people ... Roger is in the front, gluing old shoes on canvas and painting them orange. I’m clicking the old Norelcos back and forth between channels. All the windows are open. The sound is spreading all over downtown Brooklyn mixing with the helicopters, sirens, pot smoke and fireworks ...”

I’ve included Basinski’s own description of his work because, like his most well known series of albums, “The Disintegration Loops,” this latest archival release circa 1982 seems to be the sum of something larger. Basinski, an artist and composer who has been experimenting with tape loops since the early ’80s, was famously transferring the music that would make up “The Disintegration Loops” when the tape began to fall apart in the spools. A recorder captured the decaying sound as the loops slowly faded into oblivion. This all occurred in September 2001, and apparently Basinski, eyes on Manhattan from the roof of his Brooklyn home, was listening to the sound rise and fall as the towers went down.

“92982” has a lighter back story. Listening to the slow-motion piano loops gorgeously feeding back onto one another on the album opener, or the sirens and distant street sounds becoming one with repeating string swells on the second track, it’s hard not to picture Basinski at work, preparing these old recordings for a new era, awash in his own recollections of this moment in his life. It was a moment of particular significance even if it was quite ordinary. As a listener, you are there with him, and also somewhere in your own memories.
Visit www.mmlxii.com.

‘Wavering Radiant’
by Isis
label: Ipecac Recordings
genre: metal exiles
suitable for: 54 minutes of head bobbing

By now, Isis fans know what to expect when the formerly Boston, now Los Angeles-based band puts out a new album. It’s like knowing what joke your best friend is going to tell but still finding it extremely funny when it finally comes out. Isis has been making cerebral and uncompromising metal music since forming in 1997, garnering them comparisons to Neurosis and Tool (the latter’s Adam Jones guests on two tracks). “Wavering Radiant,” the band’s fifth studio album, continues to pour on the melody and atmosphere atop repetitive, gradually developing songs that crawl along at a rhythmic mid tempo. The band’s most polished, commercially viable album, this definitely exceeds 2006’s “In the Absence of Truth” and sits among their best.

Still the most compelling characteristic of Isis is the interplay between soft and quiet, exemplified perfectly by singer Aaron Turner’s alternation between clean vocals and a fierce hardcore growl. Keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer is more prominent here, providing not just mood but song-carrying riffs like those on opener “Hall of the Dead.” This, plus some of the most complicated arrangements in Isis history, leads the band directly into prog territory at times, particularly on the 10-minute-plus “Hand of the Host.”

For fans, this album will be familiar and comfortable, something by which to turn on and tune out. To new ears, this will sound like a band that defies characterization, like nothing else around—like Isis alone.
Visit www.isistheband.com.

‘Cover the Windows and the Walls’
by Grouper
label: Root Strata
genre: dream pop
suitable for: agoraphobia

This is going to be bold, but I’m pretty comfortable with it: Portland’s Liz Harris, a.k.a. Grouper, is the best indie singer/songwriter/musician playing at the moment. I’m not sure there’s much competition, really. Her sound has become singular by now—gorgeous choral singing accompanied by guitar that’s soaked in reverb and effects, all of which seems to descend from the heavens on a direct path into your consciousness. The line between song and pure sound becomes unrecognizable.

“Cover the Windows and the Walls,” released on LP only in 2007 and re-released on CD this month, is sort of a bridge between Harris’ more experimental early works and her more focused recent output. It represents a moment when it became clear that not only is Harris an exceptional musician with big ideas, but that she also lays claim to one of the most beautiful voices around. Angelic is almost too easy, but that’s the best way to describe her singing.

There’s a debt owed to early 4AD musicians and Creation Records shoe-gazers, particularly Slowdive, but Grouper’s sound is her own. Songs like “Heart Current” and the eponymous opening track perfectly marry Harris’ songwriting and the crackling echo of her guitar. “It Feels Alright” dials back on everything, letting Harris’ airy voice overshadow a simple guitar strum waxing in the background. As peaceful as the music is, Harris’ Grouper, by its sheer creativity and overwhelming beauty, is a powerful force. This release should continue to bring in new converts.
Visit www.yellowelectric.googlepages.com/grouper.

‘Classic of the Mountains and Seas’
by Li Jianhong
label: P.S.F. Records
genre: shred-fest
suitable for: shredding

First, a word of caution: When playing this latest release from Chinese guitarist Li Jianhong, begin the CD at a volume of zero and work your way up to a comfortable level. Use of headphones is strongly recommended.

Jianhong, born in Fenghua, Zhejiang Province and now living in Hangzhou, plays a serious electric guitar, borrowing a lot from the Japanese underground of the past three decades, including the work of avant-guitarist Keiji Haino up to Boris and Acid Mothers Temple. But there’s just as much a tribute to Hendrix, one of the few musicians whose lone guitar playing could captivate a room.

On these solo guitar blowouts, Jianhong undoubtedly brings an Eastern, meditative perspective to the music even if it also happens to be capable of crushing one’s will into small pieces. The first of two tracks, “Classic of the Mountains” dubs Jianhong’s psychedelic soloing over a lulling single tone, mirroring the sound of Asia’s traditional folk music. Of course, this is all amplified at peak volume, but there’s no doubt that Jianhong is interested in bridging the modern with the ancient. The second track, “Classic of the Seas,” is more subdued, with Jianhong’s guitar playing tangled up in dark textures and sustained notes rather than speedy guitar freak-outs. Dark and powerful, “Classic of the Mountains and the Seas” is bedroom jamming on a massive scale, and the Chinese prodigy behind it couldn’t sound more free.

Visit www.myspace.com/lijianhong.