Pick of the month for July, 2007.

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Land Patterns is a reviewer’s nightmare. While attempting to say anything concrete about the album, any statement eventually put forth will inevitably be turned against the speaker. This creates quite the conundrum. The analytic is thus trumped; we can, henceforth, attempt one of two obvious routes. The first involves casting it asides as ergodic in nature. It’s homogeneous in concept, and thus unplayful and dull to the ears; put differently, a seemingly uninteresting listen. But nay, we pigeonhole ourselves with such an analysis. To stand in these bold waters would be to deny ourselves the finer aspects of life, to vehemently refuse to turn our attention to the subtleties with which a piece so actively involves itself.

Alternatively, we stall. The wise will construct an argument, which, while convincing of the technical and conceptual merits of a body of art, don’t really make any firm commitments to forming an opinion of the piece itself. In other words, we can say more by really saying nothing at all. Again, we find trouble with this approach, as it is rather unchallenging for the author, and increasingly challenging for the reader to decipher the convoluted prose. It’s undeniably spineless, and misleading to the readers, who profess to valuing the opinion of the critic in question. Unfortunately, most reviews of most albums fall squarely into one of these two categories, independent of source (though I’m sure we can all think of a few websites that are guilty of one or the other, or both). Journalistic integrity aside, it’s disheartening to witness so many self acclaimed music lovers who are so unpassionate about the music they listen to that they’re unable to really dig deeply under the surface. Perhaps I’m being too harsh on the modern school of critique (read: promotion) and it’s merely a shortcoming of technical writing prowess that neutralizes many well intended reviews. In that case, I’ll happily admit to playing the pessimist.

But I’ll digress. A more interesting topic, as it pertains to A World on Higher Downs, is the fringe boundary of electronic and ambient music. Since the dawn of time, many have loved ambient sounds, be it synthetic or natural, and the invention of the computer has greatly aided electronic artists, who would otherwise be out of commission. Although much ambient music is largely electronically crafted, it is, by and large, meant to mirror natural sounds and emotions. Oceans, space, forests, etc… all are common sources of inspiration and models for ambient artists. Post-production has become ever more important with the computer, and, in the year of 2007, personal computers are powerful enough to create a pretty convincing work of art without ever leaving the basement. Look around, your neighbors might just be creating the next best thing.

On the other hand, electronic artists, under the catch all “electronica” tag, are largely interested in unnatural sounds. Gone are the flourishes of nature and space, and instead we’re left with very mechanical clicks and beeps and whirls, or maybe overwhelming washes of synth, and more programmed beats than the mind can handle. Call it what you will, the laptop generation is now deeply entrenched in the modern experimental arts, and it looks like it’s here to stay.

Then, it comes as no surprise that some effort would be made to unite these two ostensively separate worlds. At some point in time, people become bored with black and white, and begin to venture into shades of gray. Worlds collide; the synthetic meets the organic, and music will never be the same…But this was several years ago, was it not? The cyclical nature of the music industry reveals itself, and as listeners, we’re taken on another roller coaster ride. We live in a time period where between any two given genres there are approximately one million sub genres that link the two, so it’s actually an expected sound that is coming out of the speakers.

In no way is this meant to devalue Land Patterns, which can most accurately be described as the sound of the bar being raised another notch, but rather we strive to acknowledge that credit is due to those who preceded them, and TWOHD is not shy to admit they respect the works of their predecessors. However, we’d be in a very sad, stale environment if we were to let our musical forefathers write the book and leave it at that. Experimentalism isn’t a blind taste, we’re meant to get our hands dirty destroying everything they laid down and creating a whole new world in our image. We thank them for the blueprint, but as technology rapidly expands our musical repertoire, it’s very clear that electronic artists quickly become outdated. TWOHD is in prime position to wear the crown in 2007.

Of late, there’s been a resurgence of the electro/ambient art. I’ll spare you needless name dropping, but suffice to say it’s been hard to miss and many haven’t really grasped the larger context within which their work resides. Most aim for that seamless mix of the two worlds, and many hope to be able to glide from one to the other with the listener none the wiser, but in reality, very few are capable and knowledgeable enough about their music to accomplish this feat. The state of critique is none too enlightening about this phenomenon either. Look hard enough and you’ll see ambient artists attempting some of the laziest, uninspired electronica and being praised through the context of an ambient album as being “innovative.” Likewise, electronic artists throw in the most trite ambient washes and the electronic crowd heralds them as the “brilliant.” But, it’s just not so. The electronic efforts fail due to resounding incompetence, and the ambient are missing a motivational counterpart which so well delineates the genre. People will tell you otherwise, but on the whole are vastly ill informed about the histories of the music they listen to and should be considered null and void, where appropriate. Anyone telling you this is “post-rock” should be kicked in the teeth…

The crux of Land Patterns is that The World on Higher Downs does use ambient tools and electronic tools, and each is used effectively to creating an album that is really neither ambient nor electronic. It’s really that simple, and it’s difficult to understand why so many of their peers have missed the point. A more internal review can, of course, be read here here; suffice to say that the album is not only a joy to listen to, but when viewed in whichever context you might be inclined to put it in, it always shines. That in itself is quite an accomplishment.

Lastly, some concern has been placed upon the relative worth of “Ascension And,” which has been attacked as “overlong and eventless.” Such a comment is assuredly located within a electronic critique, as no self-respecting ambient listener would dare call a piece too long or boring. That’s a awfully slippery slope to step onto, which quickly eats away at credibility. While certainly not as “active” as other pieces, such as “Two Aged Windows” and “Sun Court,” “Ascension And” effectively presents a summation of the other seven tracks nearby. The only true fault lies in an overbearing string sample, which could have been mixed down slightly to great effect, but we imagine that the desired result is the contrast with the low-mixed brass, and that is soundly accomplished. I’m not one to quibble at “levels of contrast” — whether it’s too great for the piece’s own good or not — but, in my book, the problems encountered with this track are negligible at best.

Certainly some will find The World on Higher Downs clinical approach too esoteric for their own tastes. Those seeking flashy electronic tricks or long ambient drones will be greatly disappointed by the brevity that each actually dominates the album, but those truly enjoying a well balance album, which not only pulls from the appropriate genres, but also handles them as good as or better than any of their peers, will undoubtedly find Land Patterns one of a kind. At least, in 2007, I wouldn’t expect anyone to come out of the field with a stronger release.

~Jordan Volz

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