Much of Seth Cluett’s Objects of Memory seems intentionally distanced, obscured and opaque, cloaked in aural cotton wool. “Objects in Stillness” for example explores a fixed set of tonal patterns, akin to the more refined studies of Alvin Lucier, but the pure sine tones begin to fade, washed out by competitively pitched gestures from bassoon, viola and guitar. These sustained lines are punctuated by sparse, routine pulses on percussion, lending the drones a hint of portentousness, but the hazy ghostliness of it all ensures it remains warm and approachable.
“A Murmur Which Redoubles” for three guitars, electric bass and four sine tones is similarly elusive, the guitars threading snakelike through the sines, creating flickering traces like Akira Rabelais’s Benediction, Draw, and favouring suspended Satie-esque anti-resolutions. “A Radiance Scored with Shadow” is more oblique, barely audible rustlings and gasps produced by amplified paper and compressed air.
The final two pieces take up the majority of the disc at 20 and 26 minutes a piece, and adhere more closely to traditional electro-acoustic drone structure. “Doleros” features the clink and click of bricks, twine, speaker cones and “light” tapping along to an industrial tinged hum. “Untitled (Objects of Memory)” creates a similar extended workout from cassette dictaphones and players, feedback and “computer-generated and vocally-produced” sine tones, although the hum is richer and warmer, contracting and expanding like the sea. These pieces are engaging but the earlier three, combining the malleability of Rabelais with the patience and restraint of Feldman, are extraordinary.
Joshua Meggitt
