What by StrangerStill

FJ014: Second collection of improvised avant-rock from this Hobart trio with a past and occasional present in moody folk compositions under the name Strange Bunny (there were a handful of releases in the early 2010s, hopefully more in future). As StrangerStill they’ve been exploring other avenues of sound for a while now, equal parts motoric and exploratory, light and shadow, psychedelic and psychological. ‘What’ follows up their first release ‘Strange’ on Sydney bedroom label Chemical Imbalance in 2017 and the seven tracks here were all recorded in a single day later that same year. Hypnotic elements make a regular appearance in these mostly shorter pieces – a nice connection to the long-form excursions of the band’s live sets – and there’s also a distinctive post-punk feel to this release, not just the sounds themselves but in the overall economy of sound heard throughout; there’s still a healthy respect for space even when tracks build up to relative crescendos. It’s the kind of music where you can hear all the parts coming together in real time to form a whole: Michael Schlitz’ repeating drum motifs, foundational, architectural but also driving when required; Duncan Marshall’s strings/synth moving between background and foreground, pealing, droning, accumulative; Maria MacDermott’s stream-of-conscious half-spoken vocals hovering over and through – cryptically alluding to psycho-social themes, life events, the creative process, all of the above at once. Some unusual percussion and the beautiful album artwork also courtesy of Maria! - Tim P.

More info at: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreStrangerStill/

Improvised, exploratory & otherwise out. Not a jazz label. Not afraid of contradiction.

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