December 25, 2010

Yellow Swans - Going Places (2010)

Released on the beloved Type Records, run and operated by John Twells (Xela), Yellow Swans spearhead the development of sound, as it's concerned with noise, drone, and power electronics. But in their latest release, Going Places, it's not all about distortions and sheer cringing fuzz. There's clear structure, texture, and even pulsating rhythm behind each track, allowing the foreground instruments to carry out the development, while the background noise soars to new heights. Based out of Portland, the duo of Pete Swanson and Gabriel Mindel Saloman describe their music as "powerful rendering of free rock, black electronics, and white light vibrations." Their latest work is a product of over a decade worth of music, released on CD-Rs, cassettes, and vinyl, coming to an end. In April of 2008 the band announced their decision to split up, concentrating on finishing up their final album. Even the title suggests that they might be going places, and the same-titled last track fades away, like a burning rocket into deep space. If you are at all curious about the capacity of noise, start off with Yellow Swans and then work your way into darker territory...

1 comment:

jonathan said...

nice, really surprised you reviewed this. thx