Original Silence

Second Original Silence

Label: Smalltown Superjazzz Country: Norway

"If the success of a sophomore album should be measured by whether it includes a potential hit (it shouldn't, but humor me here), then The Second Original Silence has struck gold. Not that a six-piece improvisational noise/jazz/rock ensemble has much chance of scoring chart action, but if it did, opener "Argument Left Hanging - Rubber Cement" would fire a bullet into any top 10 it came close to. Shooting out of the gate with scratchy guitar, gut-rocking bass, and a stuttering beat, the track at first resembles a Captain Beefheart jam, then hits shades of electric-era Miles Davis, and ends with a trail of dense electronics. Throughout, Mats Gustafsson's sax wraps the din into a ball of rhythmic noise, suggesting it's actually possible to dance to free-form improv.

The rest of the album (pristinely recorded at a 2006 Italy performance) doesn't match that crackling open, but it's still pretty great. And while it may not have the relentless energy of the group's debut, it trumps that effort in terms of sonic variety. Full-throttle sprints trade jabs with sparser stretches, and recognizable sounds blend with noise so abstract, it actually gets scary. Much of this diversity comes from the increased prominence of Jim O'Rourke's electronics. Pushed forward in the high-speed mix, his ripples and slashes are somewhat stock, but the way he deploys them gives each piece tangible shape. Connecting the high-end of Gustafsson and guitarists Thurston Moore and Terrie Ex to the low-end of bassist Massimo Pupillo and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, O'Rourke strings constellations out of his colleague's starry sounds.

[...] Where The First Original Silence was one sustained shot of adrenaline, its sequel shows the group can travel in an arc as well as straight line. Which makes the prospect of what new shape they might take on a potential Third Original Silence that much more enticing.-Marc Masters, Pitchfork Media