Wednesday, August 27, 2014

CASSETTE REVIEW: Justin Wiggan & Francesco De Gallo "Tones To Disappear To" (Jehu & Chinaman)


            The idea of having “Tones To Disappear To” makes me think of being alone in a crowd or just in general how to exist without the spotlight on you.   There is a particular episode of the television series “Dark Angel” I enjoy, which I don’t recall too many specifics of, where certain characters blend into the background.  I remember it well because the actor who played Donkey Lips on “Salute Your Shorts” was one of these types and I’ve always felt like I was that way as well—that I was able to go through life unnoticed until I wanted someone to see me.

            The musical aspect on this cassette created by Justin Wiggan and Francesco De Gallo suggests something slightly different to me though.    Amidst haunting growling type of noises is a constant banging/tapping/hammering which brings to mind the idea of this being set in the woods somewhere and people going out there to never return.    It might very well be that I just watch too many horror movies, but it does bring to mind the idea of someone going into the woods to never return and everyone else in town wondering if it’s a werewolf getting them or what.    But, somehow still, people are disappearing.

            On the other hand, parts of this music bring out an ambient and sort of spatial quality to things.  This reminds me of any number of sci-fi movies where is someone is left out in space to die, just floating along in the vast universe with nothing left to cling to or any means of holding on.    It’s odd because it truly does remind you how great this universe is when compared with a single country on this planet, let alone a tiny speck known as a human being.    I don’t really have a good comparison for it with ants or anything, but only can imagine as being similar to a single grain of salt being cast out to sea.   That is how a person would seemingly float throughout all of space endlessly until they merely disappeared completely. 

            Though I feel as if there was once an album called “How To Disappear”, I can only find through a google search and jog of my memory the song called “How To Disappear Completely” by Radiohead.    Still, I would rather listen to this than even Radiohead, as if there was an album called “How To Disappear” I’d pit it as being released by Coldplay or somebody.  

            What happens here is that Justin Wiggan and Francesco De Gallo have me analyzing every possible aspect of disappearance on just every level of the word.   To think something as specific as this so completely and thoroughly through is just a perfect reflection on how thought provoking this cassette truly is.  










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