digiv025: brother raven "VSS-30" LP $15 / $18 / $26
In 2010, the ride never seems to stop so if you want to get off you've just got to jump head first. Brother Raven, the Seattle-based duo of Jason Anderson (Spare Death Icon, Gift Tapes, etc) and Jamie Potter (ex-Bonus, Million Mists, etc) are taking synthesizer-based music into new and unexpected realms. Anderson and Potter are total time travelers, searching out old, forgotten methods and sounds and taking them into a square-wave future. "VSS-30" is rooted in its namesake's primitive synthesis but is forward-thinking enough to take the listener on a tripped-out cosmic space walk.

"VSS-30" picks up where the duo's previous release on Digitalis (2009's cassette, "Nellie") left off. It's a continuation of those ritualistic astral projects but with more polish and unexpected surprises. The opening piece, "Space," acts as a segue into this new, expanded universe. Washed-out drones greet you at the gates, advancing methodically until noisy blasts and sonar-infused rhythms bring the facade crashing down. Once the first beat drops, though, "VSS-30" has arrived. Disco flirtation and blooped-out nowhere hooks rise between the waves. It's almost pop music, but not quite and falls apart just as fast as it arrives.

As with all their music, Brother Raven's sound is 100% improvised and always recorded to tape. That added warmth keeps their space-age intonations from getting distant or cold. The flip-side of the record dials things in and shows just how much focus and restraint the duo possess. More blitzed beats push things along at a reliable pace, underscored by repetitive tones leading into candy-striped, totally sweet synthesizer loops. "VSS-30" seems, on the surface, to be all over the map but it's absolutely cohesive and flows like a perfect pink stream.

There's no doubt that there's been dozens upon dozens of new synth-based bands and artists coming out of the woodwork over the last couple of years, but Brother Raven have shown over and over that they've got a head above most. "VSS-30" is an impressive, fully-realized piece of work that cements their place on the astral plane.

Vinyl only edition of 300 copies housed in silkscreened jackets. Please note that the b-side label of the record is stamped, not the a-side.

SIDE A: 1. space 2. megaton 3. cartoon life 4. symbols
SIDE B: 1. sentinel 2. cold nothingness 3. whirlwind/hyperdrive 4. sea breeze II: the final battle