Even though his
Herbert recordings tend to focus on sound source experimentation to an uncommon degree,
Matt Herbert's
Wishmountain project makes the relationship much more direct. The titles ("Toaster," "Golf," "Cheesegrater," "Bottle") of most of the tracks here are good clues to just what is being sampled, and the sources appear just a bit more upfront than the rest of the productions: witness the cut-up "Royal Wedding," a beatless and haunting piece that twists Charles and Di's vows to sound like it was recorded centuries earlier. Overall,
Wishmountain Is Dead just isn't as fascinating or propulsive as the rest of
Herbert's remarkable material.