A rare, perfect instance of collaboration, where two distinct sets of
talents merge into something larger than its parts, this split CD documents
the euphoric, live side of Young God's latest discovery alongside the more
melodic, acoustic face of its founder, Michael Gira. The disc followed on
the Angels of Light/Akron/Family tour of last spring, where the
Brooklyn-based experimental collective supported Gira as opening and
backing band. It was recorded quickly after the two bands returned from
Europe, coming together from start to finish in a little over a week. Both
Akron/Family's self-titled debut and Angels' most recent Sings Other
People were fine, well-crafted works, and both ranked among the best of
this year's offerings. Yet this CD, loose and tossed-off as it is, eclipses
both of them.
The disc showcases Akron/Family's wide musical range, their ability to move
from acoustic musings to free improv jams to campfire harmonies in the
space of an eye-blink, and to integrate all these things with no seams
showing into freewheeling wholes. Their "Future Myth," epic at eight
minutes long, comes in as if from great distance, wordless vocals and
abstract drumming coming slowly into focus as the song itself
approaches. There's a prog-like expansiveness to the long, dreamy intro, which
merges, no seams showing, with a glockenspiel-lit, folk-driven verse. The
two elements coexist, grandeur and simplicity together as in a Brueghel
painting, the small figures to the foreground, looming mountains
behind.
"Raising the Sparks" is, if anything, drawn on an even larger
scale. Its '70s-prog guitars drive in lock-step with the snare 4/4s, under
a winding, weaving, heavily harmonized melody. Akron/Family are rightly
known for their multi-voiced harmonies. In this track, all four members join
to create shifting textures of chord and discord, erupting finally into a
joyous ritual chant of yips and barks and intonations, where everyone says
"Raise the Sparks" at different times and in different tones.
There are
also some quieter cuts, such as the lovely, translucently simple
"Oceanside," with its slow strums and thoughtful verses. The center here
is the singing, simple and unforced, with that right-here-next-to-you
quality that Gira has achieved with other protégés, most notably Devendra
Banhart. Even when the track picks up additional instrumentation — piano,
horns and percussion — it remains full of space and light.
Gira starts his segment of the split with his version of Dylan's "Pity the Poor
Immigrant” (Dylan’s version appeared on the countrified, return-to-the-game John Wesley
Harding), an interesting choice for someone who has emerged from his
post-punk past in a more traditional acoustic mode. The Angels' version of
this song, which has also been covered by Joan Baez, Gene Clark and Judy
Collins, is nearly as spare as the original, embellished only with languid
guitar, shuffling percussion and the sweet unearthly harmonies of
Akron/Family.
"The Provider," up next, harks back to the Angels of Light's
earlier, more dramatic songs. With its long, anxiety-building intro, high
plucked upbeats and ominous low guitar notes, it is much darker and more
threatening than anything up to this point on the split. Mid-song it
surges into a wild vocal chorus, howled as much as sung, and braced by
bouts of feedback, much like "Rose of Los Angeles" from Everything Is
Good Here/Please Come Home.
The most effective collaboration on the
disc, though, is probably "One for Hope," a track that mixes Gira's dark
ruminations with Akron/Family's buoyancy. The distinctive styles — Gira's
deep, hollow baritone against soaring voices — combine in a way that
underlines both their strengths, giving Gira an unusual lightness and Akron
a gravitas they don't always have.
Lots of artists talk about collaborating, but very rarely do their
energies combine so seamlessly or create something so distinct as
this. Very highly recommended.
|
