Growing

The drone-friendly duo of Kevin Doria and Joe Denardo have undergone gradual, subtle changes since their 2003 debut on Kranky records. They’ve retained their contemplation and evocation of sound-as-drifting-microbes but excised the Earth/Sunn O))) riff strand of their DNA. The missing genetic material is replaced by a strange sidelong approximation of ’70s style interlude tuneage. Opener "Fancy Period” begins with an extended flux of synth and guitar arpeggios that recall moody/spacey passages from vintage Alan Parsons, Styx or Planet P Project albums. The fanfare soon tumbles onto the digital equivalent of a cheese grater where it is progressively abraded into stuttering half notes. They continually defy the impulse to safely pocket themselves in fluffy ambience, introducing oversaturated tones and sharp bursts of noise to disrupt the reveries. The effect is like driving through early evening fog only to be overtaken by a downpour, pelted by sudden hail then shown a pretty rainbow when the sun breaks through.