The exact converse of its sister EP,
Paper White,
Big Black Square is a 43-minute improvisation and was the last thing recorded by the group during the
We Move Through Weather sessions. Unlike
Paper White or even
We Move Through Weather,
Big Black Square retains a darker quality right from the immediate onset, using field recordings and sounds of raindrops in an alleyway to segue into familiar drones and industrial sounds. It's only about 15 minutes into this stark exercise in ambience that the first hints of percussion come in and the band begins full force. It's not so much an exercise in post-rock as it is a display of the band's sonic limits. The result is a full-length performance that stacks up to anything else
Tarentel has ever committed to disc. ~ Rob Theakston