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Andrew Liles
Black Hole

Beta-lactam Ring Records

Posted: Wednesday, July 25, 2007
By: Matthew Johnson
Features Editor

Part Two of The Vortex Vault series of random and archival tracks from experimental composer Andrew Liles, Black Hole features a little bit of everything. For fans of ambient and drone music, "An Uneventful Afternoon" is a gentle drift on warm analog tones, and "Humiliated" is a strange but enjoyable bit of '70s-style space rock synths. "Midnight Gardener" is quite interesting too; its core consists of distant church bells ringing through a thickened bank of sustain, while muffled conversations playing back and forth across the stereo channels conjure the feeling of waking up from a winter nap to the sound of passersby talking as they pass your window. For slightly more industrial-tinged fare, try the echoing clanks of "Pillow Voice" or the panning buzzes and muffled percussion of "Root Canal," which—perhaps thanks to the Novocaine haze of the coolly droning background effects—is far less painful than its title suggests. Alternately, "Without Anaesthesia" is aptly sadistic, thanks to a shrieking noise that may be metal on metal but may in fact be actual shrieking, but not without its funky charm, thanks to a mellow tribal rhythm. While a lot of this is playful but somewhat inaccessible, actual melodies do make the occasional appearance as well. "Hello Pharaoh" sets a man's voice humming absentmindedly in harmony with a lovely wordless soprano, and "Bad Vibes Waiting Room" pairs buzzing upright bass with tinkling vibraphone, like some coffeehouse jazz duo filtered through post-industrial surrealism. It's a good collection of tracks, all things considered; Liles' devoted fans will enjoy the variety of course, but perhaps more importantly, newcomers will get a chance to sample a variety of his unconventional flavors in small, easily-digested chunks.