Howard Hello - Howard Hello

  by Matthew Willson

published: 8 / 5 / 2002

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Review

It seems Kenseth Thibideau, the man responsible for this intriguing album has a varied musical background - having served his time with classic American post-rockers Tarantel, and ventured into jazzy prog-rock noise with Rumah Sakit. This new collaboration is all cut up acoustic drones, minimal synths and haunting sighs. Intricate acoustic guitar melodies at the start bring to mind avant-folk influences like Jim O'Rourke or John Fahey, but before long the sound is twisted around into a strangely uneasy but relaxing jumble. Shards of acoustic guitars are cut up and reconstructed so fast it sounds like the CD player has gone into fast forward - but breathtaking vocal arrangements and the steady underlying drones hold it all together. Samples and buzzing sliced up strings back up the lost rasping vocals of Marty Anderson on 'Revolution', like an older, more twisted and fragile take on Sparklehorse's lo-fi efforts, while collaborator Wendy Allen is responsible for the wordless yet seductive sighs throughout. The album takes off into these sleepy choral arrangements and with minimal echoes of folk guitar it sucks you along all the way into a curious dreamy state before building up into more cut-up turbulence and ending on a final choral 'Hello'. Relaxing, beautiful but unnerving stuff.

Track Listing:-

1 Television
2 Belief
3 Revolution
4 America
5 Prozac
6 Dream
7 Hello

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