In the latest effort from C. Spencer Yeh, we hear a style of production new to the Michigan based composer and musician. The Strangler is a sharp departure from the haunting organics of his 2007 collaboration with Aaron Dilloway The Squid, or the texturally overwhelming distortions of his Burning Star Core releases. Instead, The Strangler is about exploration of electronically controlled timing and the meticulous digital manipulation of organic sound.
The opening track, "Escape Artist," is an exercise in madness inducing metronomic timing. Brief and loud hits from several orchestral instruments at once are followed by nerve shattering periods of clicks at perfect intervals. It's the kind of stuff John Cage would have composed if he had owned a time machine.
"Comedy FX" is a brief intermission made up of heavily processed "comedy sounds:" laughter, snare rolls, applause, crowd approval, boings, and horns. Think a mid-70's variety show caught in a malfunctioning blender.
The closing piece on this outing, "The Stranger," is the closest thing Yeh's previous releases you'll find anywhere on the disc. A wiry guitar rings out sharp, seemingly improvised notes, while the reverberation itself is turned into a swirling atmosphere of electronic hiss. Voice also plays a big part here as the guttural groans of a madman are turned to lo-fi sludge in a style that is reminiscent of Bruce Russell's tape manipulations. The entire thing becomes a cave of moans and rattles wrapped in thick reverb and the sound of running water.
Though different from what I have come to expect from C. Spencer Yeh, The Strangler is none the less a brilliant take on electro-acoustic experimentation. I would love to see how this new style of composition translates into live performance.
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