Articles
Backtracking with Lenzman
Sontag Shogun

Albums
Akisai
Anaphoria
Black Top
Apollo Brown
Jeff Burch
Anla Courtis
cv313
Federico Durand
William Ryan Fritch
Goldberg, Levy, Dobson
Mitch Greer
Hiss Tracts
Kabale Und Liebe
Inigo Kennedy
Kyoka
Lenzman
Melodia
Moon Zero
James Murray
Never Sol
N. A. Drift / Northumbria
P.J. Philipson
Pjusk / Sleep Orchestra
PRISM Quartet
David Ross & Clive Bell
Bruno Sanfilippo
Snoqualmie Falls
Tripeo
Alexander Turnquist
Kojiro Umezaki
Underhill
The Westerlies
Brock Van Wey

Compilations / Mixes
Platinum Breakz Vol 4

EPs / Cassettes / Mini-Albums / Singles
Anduin
Blind EP1
Matt Boettke
Digital
Fractals
Brandon Hurtado
Kolectiv, Dexta & Mauoq
John Lemke
Mako, DLR & Fields
Mutwawa
Nuage
Rahmanee
Frederic Robinson
Summons of Shining...
Tone Color
Stephen Vitiello

Jeff Burch: Jeff Burch
Important Records

That Jeff Burch's first solo full-length resists easy categorization turns out to be—no surprise—one of the most appealing things about it. In general terms, the thirty-two-minute self-titled release presents two long-form instrumental compositions of markedly different character, with the first orienting its design around a central, pedal point-like pitch and the second more aggressive and percussive-driven by comparison. In terms of arrangements, both are expansive works that feature a host of different sounds, from acoustic guitar and modular synthesizer to cello and tenor saxophone. And while it is a solo release, it's not a purely solo production, as four guests—Stephen James (drums, percussion), Tres Warren (electric guitar), Marcus Whale (tenor sax), and Lianne Milward (violin, cello)—make significant contributions to the album's rich soundworld. Burch himself, an American-born New Zealander who now calls NYC's East Village home, is credited with guitars, bells, blues harp, electronics, organ, Moog, zither, and other instruments on the release.

The more drone-styled of the two is “The Nine Points,” a seventeen-minute setting that unfolds with patient deliberation as it evolves through multiple episodes. Setting sail with a peaceful sax-and-acoustic guitar combination, the material assumes a heavier weight when fuzz-toned electric guitar strums add their smolder to the pairing. Even at this early stage in the piece, its core pitch declares itself as a nucleus around which accompanying sounds thereafter position themselves. In classic electro-acoustic drone fashion, the pitch maintains its presence throughout the piece, despite fluctuations in volume and despite being passed on from one instrument to another. The advent of “La Perouse” announces an immediate change in mood when guitar strums and drums inaugurate the piece with a jaunty swing that rapidly swells into a forward-rushing attack of quasi-post-rock-styled character. Subsequent wah-wah guitar effects point in psychedelia's direction, while feedback distortion adds a noise dimension that brings the drum groove to a halt. The metamorphosis continues with an insectoid electro-acoustic episode that, by my count, represents the fourth stage in this restless shape-shifter.

June 2014