One Second Bridge: One Second Bridge
Büro

Barcelona residents Vicente García Landa and Matias Bieniaszewski (aka One Second Bridge) would seem to be a self-effacing pair, judging from the little note included in their eponymous Büro album: “We played guitars, computers, and sang a little.” Drawing upon pop, electronica, shoegaze, and psychedelia, the disc's eleven tracks are a whole lot more expansive and far-reaching than such modesty might suggest. With many of the album's 13 songs brief interludes (the opener “One Second Bridge,” where electric strums echo across a decaying field of stuttering electronics, and “Un Minuto,” with its bright cascades of Rubato pianos), the album isn't an exhausting 78-minute haul but is instead a concise 39 minutes.

On songs “No 2,” “The Ghost,” and “Keep On Falling,” the album plunges into melodic shoegaze territory of the kind heard on the Morr Music Slowdive tribute Blue Skied An' Clear with whispered vocals woven into heavenly masses of guitar-drenched haze. “Keep On Falling,” in particular, references the style with electric guitars building to such an extreme pitch they literally smother the surrounding elements. One Second Bridge 's material also reveals strong commonality with Dub Tractor's bass-heavy style (“Everywhere,” “Fifth Season,” “Ventana”) and Manual (the haunting, pealing coda “Alt. Ending”). No explanation is given for why the material, recorded in 2003 and 2004, hasn't seen the light of day until now but it's none the worse for it. One Second Bridge is a lovely tapestry of entrancing songs and vignettes.

July 2006