Arco Flute Foundation - "Everything After The Bomb Is Sci-Fi" (Cenotaph Audio 2002, ct008)
Arco Flute Foundation - "Everything After The Bomb Is Sci-Fi"
(Cenotaph Audio 2002, ct008)
From Aural Innovations #20 (July 2002)
This is the third album by Arco Flute Foundation, the follow up to their 2000 joint releases 'The Second Lesson In New Era Time' and 'The Third Lesson In New Era Time'. They come from Edinboro, PA and are a quartet consisting of Dissappearo, Llasso Sincere, Matt McJagger and Big Ranch. I do not know what each member plays because the album cover only states the names of those involved.
As I listen to the first track, "The Myth That Became Jimmy Palm", I can hear drums, bass, guitars and possibly some sort of keyed electronics, although I am not sure. It starts its eleven odd minutes slow and subdued before lifting into a more up-tempo tune, possibly a rough version of Radiohead style to a certain extent. It diverts from its course about five minutes in to produce an almost Pink Floyd noise moment, which lasts for the remainder of the piece. "The Mean Egyptian" sounds very much like the title suggests, though I cannot say how. "The Lizard Christ" is an up-beat track that revels in Amon Düül 2 style improvisation, nice running bass lines and lots of noise creation from the guitar side of things. I like this track.
"Captain World's Apprentice", "It's a Symbol Like The Word 'And'", "The Bastard Son of the Earthquake Choir", and "Seymour Uncle Billybillybilly" are all set in the mould of noise atmospherics. The layered sounds are of the abstracted nature, very similar to the stuff that Landing does. The titles suggest the direction in which they tread. Places where all forms are dancing in the webs that lisp beyond the reaches of forgotten fingers, while encasing the fictional philosophy founded by chickens that dwell in the houses of... blah de blah de blah. Yes, like the titles it makes no sense, but why should it? I have not heard the other two albums so I cannot compare. I can only say that there is some good stuff on here if you listen to it properly and not just cast it aside as noise nonsense. It has no vocals whatsoever apart from odd bits and pieces of inserted speech. The majority of the album is explorative in sound yet when the band kicks up you get an interesting mix of Pink Floyd, Amon Düül 2, Conrad Schnitzler from older times, and newer bands such as Landing, Discolor and Ousia.
I found Everything After The Bomb Is Sci-Fi a nice album suited for those with an acquired taste for this music. Those who like drawn out noisescapes and abstracted atmospheres will surely get off on it. However, as I said it is an acquired taste? I can say no more.
For more information you can visit the Arco Flute Foundation web site at: http://www.arcoflutefoundation.com.
Everything After The Bomb Is Sci-Fi is distributed by Cenotaph Audio. You can visit their web site at: http://www.cenotaph.org.
Contact via snail mail c/o Cenotaph Audio; PO Box 81941; Pittsburgh, PA 15217.
Reviewed by Albert Pollard