October 15, 2013 – LonelyMachines

Music

Review: L-event by Autechre

It’s standard practice for Autechre to follow up an album with an EP. Sometimes, they’re standalone works. In other cases, they’re reinterpretations of the prior album’s material, such as Envane. Part of the challenge is finding the parallels.

L-event (“eleventh?”) appears to be a bit of both. “tac Lacora” sounds like a remix of “1 1 is,” if that track were to start out as warped electro before glitching into disarray then collapsing into wobbly-kneed dub. Structurally, it reminds me of the long versions of “Perlence.”

“M39 Diffain” might take some source material from “cloudline,” but it feels more like Confield’s magnificent “Parhelic Triangle.” The odd chatting melody at the 4-minute mark is a great touch.

“Osla for n” lopes along in 9/8 time for its first half. The brain spends a couple of minutes finding its pulse while very subtle tones work themselves forward from the background. In the second half, it switches to a rigid 4/4 beat that sounds a bit like something from a Frank Bretschneider record (that’s a compliment).

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Civil Rights

Cert Denied for Woolard

2 comments

The Supreme Court has declined to hear the Woollard case [pdf]. At this point, the only conclusion I can reach is that they’re doing their best to simply avoid the issue. When they turned away the Kachalsky case last term, the common wisdom was that they were going to hear this one instead.

As it is, we’ve got a clear split among the lower courts, so the matter begs for resolution. The 2nd Circuit decision in Kachalsky conflicts with Woollard, with two cases from the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, and with the 7th Circuit’s decision in Moore.

Two things are at issue: whether the right to keep and bear arms is limited to the home, and what level of scrutiny must be applied to regulations of the right. For now, both questions remain unanswered.

The Court is hearing United States v. Castleman, but that case is about a minor semantic issue with Tennessee’s domestic violence law.

Music

Review: Virgins by Tim Hecker

Tim Hecker specializes in a very extroverted form of minimalism. He works in huge Glenn Branca-style walls of sound, but his output is more nuanced and subtle. He’s managed to produce a diverse catalog while mining a very specific stylistic vein.

This record is an interesting departure. It’s more literal and openly emotional than his prior work. “Virginal I” uses recognizable instrumentation and actually feels as if it’s being performed by a live ensemble. A bass clarinet and cello ebb and flow around a repeated piano figure that recalls Steve Reich. The two-part “Live Room” plays like a piece of modern chamber music rather than an electronic composition, though Hecker’s treatments are still a unique fingerprint.

“Virginal II” doesn’t recap the first piece so much as it shreds it apart. While Hecker’s prior works played on a certain sort of wistful melancholy, there’s a feeling of actual despair and anger here.

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