Japanese author and prolific collaborator Kenji Siratori teamed up with Demian Johnston’s Great Falls project in late 2011, resulting in an unpredictable collection of intense swells, abrasive feedback, and dynamic vocal / noise interaction. Siratori’s vocal delivery drives much of the release, and he uses various approaches and effects to vary the intensity and color of his voice. By the middle of the disc, the collaborators provide everything from subdued background noise and spoken word to huge flare-ups and buzzing washes with looped vocals.
Thematically, the disc opens toward the subdued end of the spectrum, with single note key strokes and quiet background noise soothing the vocal delivery. Everything is blown out by the middle of the disc, as Great Falls and Siratori use extended cuts “Dear Disk” and “To Rib” to outline the most extreme territory of their collaboration. Clanging noise, abrasive feedback, echoed transitions, and wayward synths define the transitions between these pieces, and the intensity of the vocals shifts accordingly.
From those tracks, the remainder of the disc feels like a fall-out of sorts, or a decompressing period, as the proceedings retract from the extremes of the middle tracks. Multiple voices effectively change the feel of the disc on “Cops Troy Twice,” whereas the brief sequences of intense chanting present yet another new dynamic on “Taint Vital.” These fourth and fifth tracks are almost seamless in attitude, despite their dynamic differences, as the former track builds in intensity, as the inconsistent warbling of backing synths and bass swells builds to pure decayed noise on the latter track.
The final track, Taro Gift Stun Rain” is almost as long as the entire disc to that point, and rapid vocals and distorted signals lead into a stopping / starting redevelopment of the album’s themes. Extremely manipulated vocals present a type of intensity that is different from the previous tracks, which felt more organic in their delivery and pairing. A sort of sputtering-then-pulsating feel works throughout this track, alongside more layers of noise to close things out.
I can’t shake this “documentary” feel of the vocals throughout the disc. I’m not sure where it comes from; it almost builds from within as the disc progresses. The intensity of the narrative corresponds perfectly with the noise, and the dynamic presentation allows the collaborators to extend extreme spaces outward, only to let things swelter within those confines as the disc progresses.
Like most Debacle Records release, this CD is also available as a download. However, physical copies of the CD remain available from the source.
