Brian and Chris: 3
Dielectric Records

Following the full-length Vectors (Megalon) and the 4-song 12” Palimpsect (Dielectric), Bay Area residents Brian (Fraser) and Chris (Palmatier) return with 3, a six-track album of eclectic post-rock-electronic music that veritably teems with ideas, as the duo flits rapidly from one style to another within a single song. While Fraser typically handles drum chores and Palmatier adds tasty guitar riffs, the album's sonic diversity suggests the two should more accurately be labeled multi-instrumentalists.

Their mercurial approach is evidenced by the aptly titled “Action Packed Vacation.” An intro of needling guitars and repeating piano chords segues into a prototypical post-rock section of aggressive drumming and electric guitar filigrees that escalates in intensity until it abruptly cedes its place to elegant picking. A meditative interlude emerges, then a soul-jazz episode, and finally the original post-rock segment re-appears enlivened by funky guitar noodling—all in a mere six minutes, yet surprisingly the music flows seamlessly from one section to another. Less manic pieces like “Galatea” and “Sakura” adopt a more delicate feel, the former an acoustic interweave of shimmering electric guitars and soft synths joined by raw guitar etchings and declamatory drum fills and “Sakura” a dreamy oasis of marimba patterns and electric piano sprinkles. “Matin” impresses most of all as it patiently unfolds over twelve minutes. Reminiscent of Sigur Rós in its dramatic and mournful feel, its slow and bluesy opening turns haunting with the addition of church organ, soft gamelan bells, ghostly guitar cries, and glockenspiel.

Even though there may in fact be “more studio trickery than you can shake a stick at” (as the group's site attests), such trickery is subtly deployed and more evidenced in post-production sequencing than in extreme sound manipulations (“Crossing” the notable exception with its electronic clicks, funky distorted drums, and fuzzy dub-funk bass). As stylistically wide-ranging as it is, 3 is distinguished most of all by the fecund imaginations of its creators and the intelligence they display in their approach to song construction.

October 2004