Monday, December 22, 2008

Slow Six: Private Times in Public Places

Since I' home for the holidays I have been taking a break from cooking and focusing more on the relaxing. My mom is a way better cook than me anyway, so I let her handle the culinary heavy lifting, and I pitch in by decorating the occasional Sarah Palin-themed Christmas cookie on an as-needed basis.

Initially when I set out to do this blog, I wanted to music and food. I have been all food, no music. So now, today, I will do the inaugural music review from something off my hard drive. Today, you get my thoughts on Slow Six, the rather cool electronic/ambient/orchestral band from New York, and their album Private Times in Public Places.

To start off, this is the type of music I love. All sweeping strings and horns, with the occasional bell drenched in a digital rain that makes you feel paralyzed. The album is three songs long and lasts over an hour, giving each song time to build its own framework, then live, relax and stretch out within it.

"This is your last chance (before I sleep)" starts off with some radio static and low chatter about the Yankees then slowly builds on xylophone swells into a beautiful violin melody. Gorgeous as it is, the violin would have the same strangely haunting effect without the windy flute and low computerized vibrato that the song eventually devolves into.

The other two tracks are similar without being the same. The violin starts off playing a supporting role to the airy bells but slowly diverges onto it's own path, providing letting the bells provide a perfect backdrop to the strings' dramatic finish. This is great album, and it benefits from being listened to as such. This album is more of an experience than most I have listened to recently, and can conjure up a more vivid picture than any album lyrics I've heard.

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