This second helping from
Luigi Archetti and
Bo Wiget was recorded and released roughly four years after
Low Tide Digitals. The guitarist and the cellist continue to explore a territory somewhere between free improvisation and soundscapes, bridging the gap between acoustic cello and electric guitar with an assortment of electronic treatments. Most of the time, there is hardly any way of knowing who does what, although two "voices" can easily be heard. The music moves effortlessly from pretty, finely detailed
Brian Eno-esque soundscapes and grainier soft noise assemblages reminiscent of Rune Grammofon's
Deathprod/
Supersilent axis. Tracks like "Stück 21" and "Stück 22" sound like they were tailored specifically for the label's aesthetics -- they also work wonderfully well, especially "Stück 22," with its wailing guitar notes and tortured atmosphere. Don't think of this album as a collection of guitar/cello duets. Both instruments spend more time generating sounds that are fed into electronic devices than contributing to the foreground of the music. The result is occasionally trite (mostly in the first half of the album), and at other times strikingly evocative. This unevenness weakens the album, although listeners will most likely disagree about which tracks are weak.
Archetti and
Wiget make an effort to reinvent their collaboration, and that is laudable, even though it doesn't necessarily work out well in this case. Still, followers of Rune Grammofon's output should not be alienated by this release and it is certainly worth a listen ~ François Couture