The Asheville-based Watery Starve micro-imprint has been issuing a steady stream of stellar cassettes for a couple of years now. Fans of the label's sonic and visual aesthetic — every release features some form of hand-made packaging created by artist and curator Lynn Fister — who have been yearning for a vinyl release will find satisfaction in The Bet, the third effort from Norway's Frank Benjamin Finger. Finger's decidedly surreal soundscapes, lissome piano melodies, billowing clusters of disembodied vocalizing and subtle electronic textures are woven together, the enigmatic compositional techniques of musique concrète acting as a beacon to which the composer is almost certainly attracted.
Finger creates a dream-like narrative, with ideas gliding in and out of focus, at times dissolving into a vaporous mist of undifferentiated sound. The ultimate effect is disorienting yet intriguing, urging Finger's audience to peer further into his unique sound world as the album unfolds. The Bet is undeniably a praiseworthy recording and a perfect fit for the magical musical microcosm of Watery Starve.
(Watery Starve Press)Finger creates a dream-like narrative, with ideas gliding in and out of focus, at times dissolving into a vaporous mist of undifferentiated sound. The ultimate effect is disorienting yet intriguing, urging Finger's audience to peer further into his unique sound world as the album unfolds. The Bet is undeniably a praiseworthy recording and a perfect fit for the magical musical microcosm of Watery Starve.