Jason Corder and Carl Ritger have joined to compose an ambient suite of Melvillian proportions, big, American and adventurous, even though its eccentric title sounds more appropriate to a book of nonsense by Edward Lear.
Under their respective aliases, Jason Corder and Carl Ritger have joined to compose an ambient suite of Melvillian proportions, big, American and adventurous, even though its eccentric title sounds more appropriate to a book of nonsense by Edward Lear. The Season of Lost Buttons is portioned out over four acts, each on its own three-inch CDR. In its heartening refusal to let go of the past, the Wistrec label, in collaboration with Phantom & Son, have once again outdone themselves design-wise, coupling each disc with its own reproduction stereoptic slide of breathtaking (if black-and-white) period vistas and maypole dances in a slender, sturdily-bound rectangular brochure.
“Heading for the Sea, We Left in the Morning” heaves orchestrally within earshot like a waterborn 2001 (not such a far-fetched association, since the scene in the movie is also about dawn – the dawn of man). Through zooming bass, signal semaphore and static fog, the moorings are cast loose from the pier. “A Creeping Slumber” erupts with bad electricity that shivers down into a quieter though blustery climate rife with disturbing rumbles.
First submerged, “Dreams of Distant Fields” rises into a tribalistic take industrial ambient, in one of those wonderful moments where the softest sounds speak with the greatest volume. The grand finale, “Begin Again,” warbles newly woken and curves into an awe-inspiring, Fripp-like rainbow, shedding its color in a downpour. Another dream over the dam, to quote Joni Mitchell. Gently rocking to a close, turn over and begin dreaming again.
The Season of Lost Buttons is available on Wistrec.
