(05.30.06) Wow. This band only gets better. Initially on drone/indie label Kranky, Growing have moved over to Troubleman Unlimited’s sub-label Megablade, and with that move their sound has left behind the wall-of-noise blissouts of The Sky’s Run Into The Sea for a lighter, textured ambient drone that at times approaches both metal and progressive rock. Growing have (excuse me here) “grown” from their earlier stun-volume buzzing into subtler vibrations that are almost pastoral, but interspersed with some metallic aggression.
Opening track “Fancy Period” fades in with some faint guitar sprinkles and swirling synths, sounding like it could turn into a hip cover of Yes’ “Close to the Edge.” But the ecstatic drone is soon subsumed by a stuttering, staccato fuzz that, over the song’s ten minutes, begins to dominate. The battle between these two opposing forces (pastoral drone versus metallic blur) characterize the entire album. To see which one wins, listen to the final two minutes of closer “Green Pasture,” where way-too-loud buzz saw guitars completely obliterate the blissed-out smear of guitars that preceded it. For those two minutes , this album drops the happy droning and gets truly scary. Played loud, Growing’s Kevin Doria and Joe DeNardo’s instruments meld into one majestic tone that devolves from Sunn O)))-inspired metallic hum to Oren Ambarchi-esque ambient carpeting.
Much like previous efforts, Color Wheel sounds fantastic at top volume. Like other bands with similar aesthetics (like perhaps Hammock, with their new Sleep-over series), when given three simple things: space, time, and volume, Growing make their guitar and synthesizer setup sound like an orchestra.
Color Wheel is out now on Megablade.
