Embracing a hard-nosed calling card of an album title, Coin Gutter vividly illustrates an album full of sonic peaks and valleys – all demanding of your attention. Dubbing themselves as “new land” (for Western Canada and the Prairies) creators of some musique concrète — Coin Gutter are highly adept at creating fully realized, dynamic, dark narratives all within one track. Their sounds wouldn’t be out of place on a soundtrack, and the Vancouver duo has in fact composed works for modern dance. There is a strong visual element to the sound that Coin Gutter creates: harsh at one moment, quiet, distilled and detailed the next. The crashing sonic build-up that collides into the release of sonic intensity and ultimate quiet make for a highly visceral listening experience. This detailed headphone stuff would definitely equate to an interesting live performance.

This, the result of two well-traversed Montréal improvisers A_dontigny (computer) and Diane Labrosse (sampler), is a fine listen. Certainly not easy-listening, this palpitating soundtrack verges at times on Richard H Kirk solo material or even the radio works of Achim Wollscheid. The result: a blender of crossed radio-waves, submerged deep-sea musical instruments and found-sounds that’s best listened to on random. The four tracks on this album each expel their own interesting story of visceral sonic shapes and l’il bitty melody, shake-ups, living science fiction and musique actuelle that individually deserve your full attention.

His excellent album impressed us jaded twats here at Absorb towers and this is pretty much more of the same. Calling his style of music ‘beatpunk’ — combining the energy of rogue punk with the instrumentation of electronic music — seems an apt name to give it. It’s a name that could also be shared by several other artists as well, who seem to be taking cues from electronica’s experimentation and wrapping it around their indie.

The title track is heavy stuff; like Dj Shadow battling with organs and lo-slung b-lines. Coming on like a spy movie theme replete with that all essential zither vibe. Oceania is inverted funk; growling chords dirty what is otherwise a laid back diversion. Track and Field Song is a superb way out of here. Just a melting pot mix of sub-rave style chords, playful melodies and a bizarre cacophony of vocal snatches. Take heed from Mr. Books: throw down your laptops!

All your dreams are meaningless est un disque à écouter et à vivre. Je veux dire par là: ce n’est pas un album à poser sur la platine le temps qu’on plie son linge. Ne serait-ce que parce que le premier titre est une pièce instrumentale de trente-six minutes qui s’ouvre sur des larsens électroniques rebutants. Par la suite, Lift With the Knees (tel en est le nom) fait la part belle aux bruits divers, diversement reconnaissables (des pas… Quoi d’autre?), aux échos incertains et, bref, à l’évasion de l’intellect. Le duo canadien Coin Gutter, formé en 2000 par Emma Hendrix et Graeme Scott (Vancouver), fait preuve d’un talent certain pour nous faire divaguer à l’écoute de leurs paysages audacieux, aussi revêches qu’étincelants.

Le piano et la voix de la cantatrice, multipliés et interférés, offrent à Lullaby un goût inconnu et véritablement fascinant. Les compositions suivantes allient bruits, larsens, sons et voix, dans un grand bain (électroacoustique) lyrique et évanescent, tour à tour sombre et lumineux. Un disque qu’on redécouvre, inquisiteur, à chaque écoute, et qui se réinterprète selon notre humeur.

[…] molto meglio allora l’album del collega d’etichetta Todd Drootin, in arte Books on Tape, nel quale però — a dispetto del titolo — di blues non v’è traccia. Piuttosto un iper-cinetico e ruspante pot-pourri di dub, hip hop, spy-music e goicosi breaks fumettistici in saldo equilibrio sul filo d’un onnipresente sentore di sound design filmico (e poi date uno sguardo ai ringraziamenti che spaziano da Albert Ayler a David Bowie, da Art Ensemble of Chicago a Gang of Four…)

A qualche settimana di distanza dal deludente album in coppia con Robin Judge esce il nuovo album solista di Tomas Jirku, nel quale l’autore d’adozione canadese prova ad affrancarsi dal classico e soffocante marchio Deep Dub, contrassegno delle sue incisioni precedenti. E lo fa diversificando la proposta, ovvero incupendo ed increspando non poco l’atmosfera generale, vieppiù inserendo ambientazioni da colonna sonora (Input fluid, Psychosis) o intermezzi di stampo sperimentale. Non è un caso però che gli episodi più efficaci risultano quelli (Haloperidol, Tranylcypromine) che prendono l’andatura ciondolante dei materiali che gli hanno procurato stima e consensi nel recente passato.