Bright - Bells Break Their Towers
SKU
SAAH038
I really liked this one; it has the typical spacey/modern Strange-Attractors sound, but it uses vocals very prominently as well, which is an unexpected touch. "Bright have studiously erected majestic pillars of sound since their inception in Boston, MA in 1994. Gaining notoriety and a dedicated following for their trance-inducing, cascading minimalist rock, Bright have amassed a brain-flogging discography of four albums and an ep to date. Now relocated to Brooklyn, the duo of Dwinell and multi-instrumentalist Joe Labrecque have recharged their energies, entering the studio early in 2005 to conceive their fifth full length. Rapture and reverence shall be bestowed unto all fans of minimalist, melodic ambient rock, for leading lights Bright are back with Bells Break Their Towers, their most sonically taut and elaborately adorned recording yet. Early on, Bright tread predominantly in ecstatic instrumental rock forms. Colliding harmony and dissonance, their music clung precariously to a raw, edgy core, even as blossoming sound forms methodically unfurled outwards, like flowering vines towards the sun. By the time of Full Negative (or) Breaks, vocals became part of the mix, but largely used as more dcor for their vibrant sound pools. What makes the jaw drop with a thud to the floor, however, is the realization that Bright's finely-honed music is composed entirely on the spot. Entering the studio, Bright let it fly, and with a few overdubbs of added instrumentation, the result is head-bobbing and mind-elevating all at once. Drone and ambient textures, motorik Kraut rhythms and repetitious grooves collide with a tremendously melodic, almost pop sensibility, lending Bright a unique sound. Bells Break Their Towers expands their textural palette further, as evidenced on the acoustic hypnosis of "Flood ", and with the Terry Riley-like ambient propulsions of "Secret Form of Time ", which turns keyboard lines into cartwheels while overtones exhale into space. Bright make it seem so effortlesstheir sonorous whirlpools erupt from improvisation but never sound overtly "jammy", while their attention to melody, form and instrumental layering buffs to a shine the circular breathing of their rhythms. This is improvised rock you can hum to while you drift into trance states. German minimalist rock as forged by Neu! melds with 70's ambient and modern underground independent rock, sculpting fresh new trajectories in sound. Impeccably recorded, Bells Break Their Towers is a triumphant return for Bright, one of psych rock's most underrated sound spinners." [Strange Attractors]