Among Jeff Burch’s current credentials: he’s a guitarist for the indie rock band Songs, half of the duo Mandala Trap with Paul Gough (Pimmon), an in-demand journalist and graphic designer, and the owner of the boutique label/publishing concern the Spring Press. As well as all that, the Sydney-based, American-born New Zealander makes experimental music under his own name. Released on the Perth label Farmer Frontier, this 18-minute disc is his solo debut, although his Songs bandmate Steve Uren – also an artist and native Kiwi – provides additional percussion.
The opening ‘Ink’ begins with finessed cymbals and a foretelling shade of drone before some gorgeously sleepy guitar enters the frame. At eight and a half minutes, it’s an airy composition that utilises layering without ever weighing itself down. There’s a slight Dirty Three vibe to it perhaps, and it’s easy to imagine a sunset as the track starts to fade, mellow, and finally dip out of existence in its final minute. ‘Untitled #2’ is a short, reverberating guitar passage, while the Pimmon-sampling title track favours a drifting electronic drone and fleeting snatches of piano. It’s a marvelous little ambient piece that crackles like kindling. ‘Untitled #1 (The Western Hour’) then brings the record full circle with pleasant ripples of guitar and cymbals.
A treat for the ears, As I Remember… is hypnotic and imminently repeatable. Another worthy pursuit, then, by the remarkably prolific Burch.
Doug Wallen
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