| The Gray Field Recordings Sing 99 and 90 |
| Sing 99 and 90, the latest release from Oklahoma artist R. Loftiss (The Gray Field Recordings), comes in a lovely package, sealed with red string and black sealing wax. I was almost reluctant to open it. Now I’m glad that I did; pretty as the package was, it’s not nearly so beautiful as the lyrics and music. Or perhaps I should say, “some of the music.” The opening number, “Every Earthly Pendulum” begins with some speaker-shredding feedback that meanders through various permutations without really going anywhere. “Destroyed” is similarly harsh, containing all the dissonance of industrial music with no danceable beat; it reminded me of late-period Coil. More impressive was “ColdSpace,” a slow dissonant jam punctuated by clarinet squeaks and other less definable sounds. If Lovecraft’s Fungi from Yuggoth played in a jazz band they might have created something which sounded like this. Still, I prefer GFR’s more melodic efforts. (The medieval-sounding snippets of “Vls Od Q Cocasb” and the breathtaking violin/viola interplay of “Inexhaustible Caricatures of Beauty” were particular high points). Far too much ethereal music descends into the realm of the merely pretty: sickly-sweet Muzak in Black. GFR gives us beauty with a twist of bitterness. Percussive industrial sounds vie with strings in “Green-Going” and scraped acoustic guitar strings compete with a music box in “Swan’s Lake.” Loftiss is also a creative lyricist, who counts surrealist Leonora Carrington and German mystic Jakob Boehme among her influences. The lyrics of “Destroyed,” “Songs Unsung” and “Wait in Silence” are both lovely and unsettling. The arrangements highlight this dichotomy, combining beautiful flute lines with dissonant electronic sounds in a style reminiscent of Current 93’s Earth Covers Earth. (Loftiss’s vocals even evoke Rose McDowell’s eerie woman-child stylings). For their next release, GFR may want to consider including a lyric sheet (the lyrics to several of their songs are available on their website); Loftiss’ poetry certainly deserves the attention. Overall, Sing 99 and 90 is an impressive production, which remains interesting even in the places where it doesn’t completely succeed. Instead of giving us The Same Old Thing, Loftiss has tried for Something Completely Different. Drawing inspiration from Alchemical texts and Thomas Aquinas instead of Andrew Eldritch and old Bauhaus LPs, she has produced that rarest of birds – something which is genuinely Creative, rather than merely derivative. Keep an eye on R. Loftiss; I suspect her future projects will be equally creative and interesting. 1. Every Earthly Pendulum The Gray Field Recordings |