The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!

The Squid's Ear
Facebook: Squidco Sales



Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Bob Bellerue (feat. Brandon Lopez / Luke Stewart / Jessica Pavone) 
  Radioactive Desire
  (Elevator Bath) 


  
   review by Massimo Ricci
  2022-02-10
Bob Bellerue (feat. Brandon Lopez / Luke Stewart / Jessica Pavone): Radioactive Desire (Elevator Bath)

Brooklyn's Bob Bellerue is portrayed as a "creative technician" with a no-nonsense approach to equipment, environment and noise for multidisciplinary purposes. His discography comprises thought-provoking outings — among them, 2018's Music Of Liberation on this same imprint — typically investigating charged contexts via unorthodox methods. In the summer of 2020, Bellerue gathered a few collaborators to record some material after months spent without any interplay. The meeting included Jessica Pavone on viola and organ, Brandon Lopez and Luke Stewart on double bass, Gabby Fluke-Mogul on violin and Ed Bear on baritone saxophone. The nominal leader handled electronics and feedback, plus a whole bunch of stuff including (...inhale...) junk metal, cymbals, feedback piano, howling, overdriven room sound and amplified Suling Gambuh.

The first decision to be made is whether to consider this double CD as an accomplished release on a conceptual level, or a mere documentation of solitary and joint performances ("holy racket", by Bellerue's definition) captured on tape subsequent to a period of forced inactivity. If the second hypothesis is the one to follow, then there are grounds to sit down and listen — with a good dose of rational firmness — to six long tracks that invade one's habitat quite violently. We won't allow ourselves to make aesthetic judgments on any of them; least of all on the concluding "Metal Gambuh", where Z'EV-tinged clangors flow into various stages of scathing distortion, and an improvisation by Bellerue on the aforementioned flute gets contaminated by heavy processing. Indeed, feedback and electronic treatment of the instrumental sources play a fundamental role throughout the program. Droning counterpoints and sheer timbral components disintegrate into harsh abstractions, a major problem if reflecting on existence had been planned for the evening. The illusion initially provided by "The Longest Year" — nearly a chamber piece, in certain aspects — is bound to be ripped from the brain pretty quickly.

The flip side of the coin is a thorough dispersal of what is coded, predigested, mystified. By turning up the volume consistently (a risky move if living with a family, or in a block of flats), a recurrent sense of almost desperate catharsis will delineate the work's intrinsic value, well beyond the simple "like/dislike" dualism. The physical phenomenology of these pieces expresses a raw nudity through juxtapositions of strident frequencies and sonic/noisy combinations having little to do with diplomacy. In other words, crystal-clear audio imaging is not at the top of Bellerue's list of interests. He's seemingly determined to impose an acceptable coexistence with the audience at home, warts and all. No conditions, no ifs, ands or buts: this is, take it or leave it, exactly what's on offer. Brutally honest, uncomfortably unadorned, totally unsuitable for those who rehash the "deep listening" formula without really knowing what that means. Ultimately, Radioactive Desire is more likely to be treasured by Merzbow fans than lovers of innocuously drifting reverberations. Be warned, though: time is needed to perceive the core of the matter.







Comments and Feedback:



The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Kim Jae Jung:
Shamanism
(Relative Pitch)



Joe McPhee/
Susanna Gartmayer/
John Edwards/
Maria Portugal:
Monster
(Klanggalerie)



Signe Emmeluth/
Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten/
Axel Filip:
Hyperboreal Trio
(Relative Pitch)



John Butcher/
John Edwards:
This Is
Not Speculation
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Izumi Kimura/
Lina Andonovska/
Dominique Pifarely:
Seven Dreams
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Jerome Deupree/
Sylvie Courvoisier/
Lester St. Louis/
Joe Morris:
Canyon
[2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Marc Baron/
Eric La Casa:
Contrefacons
(Swarming)



Francisco Lopez:
Untitled (
2021-2022)
[2 CDs]
(Bu Lang Tribute Cake)



Eventless Plot |
Haarvol:
The Subliminal Paths
[CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Innovo Editions)



Akmee:
Sacrum Profanum
(Nakama Records)



Karl Evangelista Quintet
feat. Bobby Bradford and
William Roper:
Solace Angles
(Asian Improv)



Sveio:
Latent Imprints
(577 Records)



The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters (
Rasmussen/
Mitelli/
Rezaei/
Koenig):
The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Dan Brown/
Dan Reynolds:
Live At
The Grange Hall
[unauthorized][CASSETTE]
(Sacred Realism)



Matt Mitchell:
Sacrosanctity
(Obliquity)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
[VINYL]
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Mary Halvorson Septet:
Illusionary Sea
[2 LPS]
(Firehouse 12 Records)



Darius Jones:
Legend of e'Boi (
The Hypervigilant Eye)
[VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(Aum Fidelity)



Irene Schweizer/
Rudiger Carl/
Johnny Dyani/
Han Bennink:
Irenes Hot Four
(Intakt)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (16383)