The Current Group "Plateau Meridians" LP
The Current Group's 2009 record “Plateau Meridians” has to be one of the most
abstract & artistically
original pieces I've recently stumbled upon. The album's downloadable off the bands
label Close / Far, which is home to all kinds of otherinteresting records and bands,
but I recommend ripping this one personally. The record begins with the track “For All
Time” which emits a meditative & ceremonial vibe. The song drones on with down tuned
guitars that create a liquid presence, backed by whispers & the echoes of
chants. On “Silver Equine Heart” the ambiance is a bit different. The track slowly
builds with the sound of dark jazzy trumpets, percussions that have the aura of some
monastic eastern practice, & surreal poetics that are gently sung that seem to emit from a
place of darkness & light.So as the poem ends the songcomes to an abrupt stop only
to fall back on the jazz like sounds that bring to mind a darker Coltrane type tune.With “Thine Eyes” that meditative aura is
captured once more putting the listener in a trance. The tribal percussions
throughout the song are as mesmerizing as the sounds of ticking clocks & raindrops
that trickle like shifting rattlesnakes. On “December 21, 2006 (For All Longing)” a very
haunting aura was realized. The percussion’s sound, like a room taken over by a playful
poltergeist as you imagine drawers opening by themselves and doors opening and shutting
quite frantically. The voice over it sounds either like a lonesome specter calling out
or the ravings of a madman in an asylum, repetitively shouting “Don't forget to come back!” On “Meridians” the listener feels themselves
becoming mentally disembodied in the depths of space as they float
along an invisible current of dreams. With “Nek Chand” you fall back into that
strange world of percussions that sound like chains and poetics that seem to vocalize from ten
different mouths. While in the next track “On The Salem Plateau”the electronic
effects seem to hover over the listener's head as the guitars create an atmospheric vibe felt
throughout the song. Another one of the more bizarre tracks on the record is “Boxcars (Story
Version)”, which starts with what sounds like an anxious mind thinking in silence as
eerie synth effects begin to envelop it. The breathing grows heavier as the lyrics twist in
strange directions and the sounds follow suit all climaxing into a paranoid piece of
perfection. On “Thine Eyes II” that schizophrenic voice returns disturbed as ever backed by
percussion’s ticking like the hands of a clock and melodious guitar rhythms. The final track
on this masterpiece is“Under The Dogwood” which flows with cascading sound
effects of shifting sheets as you twist and turn in your bed in a state of slumber. While all
the while holding that peaceful tranquility felt in a summertime dream.
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