Violet: The Sun is Shining & the Flowers
are Blooming
on Violet Street
Scarcelight
Even the most indulgent listener might find his/her patience tested when a CD devotes space to snoring sounds, as Violet (Washington-based Jeff Surak) does in “Liebe Liebe, Amoure Amoure, Lyubov,” the opening piece on this twenty-one minute, three-inch CD (admittedly, it's accompanied by more interesting sounds of howling wind, rain dribble, and rustling clatter). If you're more annoyed than amused by the idea, stick around for the recording's centerpiece “Priznak Aluminum (Holiday Suite for Foil),” an industrial drone of heaving foghorn tones and seething crackle that glacially escalates in volume and intensity over twelve-minutes. The blurry, piercing roar of “Dead.End (Live),” on the other hand, kicks into gear within seconds and stays there for a full three minutes. For the record, the Scarcelight site clarifies that Violet creates “organic irrational compositions, using electro-acoustic instruments and tape/CD/vinyl manipulations.”
May 2005
