Piers Whyte's self-titled Ache Records debut is likely to appeal to a very narrow target audience. Additionally, it would be a superfluous endeavor to give a track-by track analysis of the music contained on this album. Simply put, this is experimental noise that lies somewhere between the damaged vinyl expressionism of Philip Jeck and Otomo Yoshihide, and the more extreme end of the noise spectrum inhabited by the likes of Kevin Drumm and Merzbow. At times, Drumm's 2002 release Sheer Hellish Miasma comes to mind during some of Piers Whyte's heavier sonic squalls. Whyte's source material, however, appears to be field recordings and incidental noise rather than treated guitar or something otherwise synthetically generated.
Admittedly, Drumm's Sheer Hellish Miasma and its ilk (i.e. the more "extreme" experimental noise releases) are not terribly much to my liking. I can, however, appreciate the modus operandi behind such recordings. Drumm, Lasse Marhaug, et al., along with such modern composers as Crumb, Xenakis, and others who have experimented with microtonal theory, prefer to provide their listeners with music that is challenging and aggressive to the ear; thus resisting simple analysis. Drumm's magnum opus, rather than simply subverting melody and traditional song structure, provided us with violent slabs of music comprised of slowly, minutely changing textures which were the closest to "variety" these songs approached. Herein lies the problem with Piers Whyte: is this type of music something that has been done before? Or is Piers Whyte a mere re-hash of the more "extreme" form of electronic laptop tweakery that's already out there in abundance. Perhaps a more appropriate question might be: is there a method behind this mutant squalor, or is it noise for noise's sake?
The saving grace of Piers Whyte is the diversity of its musical sources. Its sheer heterogeneity makes it possible to listen to the album in one sitting, in its entirety. There are also quieter, more ambient sections of the record that actually give the listener a pleasant, albeit brief, reprieve. Whyte combines processed electronic static, hum, and distortion with seemingly random white "background" noise, samples of children singing, and other assorted clicks and pops. The louder bits of the album are offset semi-agreeably by the quieter ones.
For the most part, and this is unfortunate, Piers Whyte left me wondering whether the record is either a semi-finished, half-thought-out, or merely half-assed attempt at a particularly unpleasant form of sound collage. I find it important to reiterate, however, that this is not an entirely uninteresting album. The production is sharp, and the record has left me feeling overall that with more focus and introspection on the part of the composer, it could have been a more satisfying release. For those who thrive on the edgier, more unsettling variety of electronic experimental music, Piers Whyte will deliver the goods.
1. Forest Fire Demo
2. Chilly Mountain Warp
3. Winter, '03
4. Waxing Sentimental
5. Spring, '04
6. Jacque in the Barbe
7. Unfurland Parade
8. No More Nukes
9. Pioggia Viola