Skinny
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- #34
- Posted: 07/22/2016 18:09
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In which our humble protagonist was truly blown away?
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Mette Henriette by Mette Henriette
| Skinny wrote: | 
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Mette Henriette - Mette Henriette (2015)
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This is just... wow. She's a Norwegian sax player, and the first disc is just her and a pianist and a cellist, and it's like 15 short vignettes that form a much bigger whole, not a whole lot in terms of massively memorable melodies, but lots of little motifs that get part-repeated throughout, and this thrilling, sexy intimacy whereby you can hear every breath, and each one of these pieces are like little crystals. In fact, her own sax is basically a background player for most of this, allowing the other two to do most of the work, until about two thirds of the way through and then she comes through with this beautiful pure tone and yet still maintains restraint even as she pushes her way ever closer to the fore, and it's not even really jazz, it's more like chamber music, and it's kinda lonely but there's always hope and there's always light coming in through the cracks. And then the second disc kicks in and starts off in much the same vain, but slowly all these other instruments start emerging, and by the time we get to 'wildheart' this most definitely is jazz, it's angry at the world and it makes me think of Archie Shepp (except, y'know, less bluesy), but throughout most of the songs here (again, short vignettes that form a whole, often less than two minutes long) there remains that crystalline quality, and that restraint, but there's this longing quality that makes me think of 'Lonely Woman' at times, and then there's this three song section where 'but we did' and 'breathe' are these two beautiful pieces that make me realise that Nils Frahm is like the most boring fucking artist in the world and they sandwich this intense 8-minute freak-out called 'I', and then 'bare blacker rum' could've been on that fantastic Aki Takase La Planete album from last year, and then it all ends with this really intriguing piece that lets me know that the future is going to be fine, and oh my god what the fuck is this amazing album. There's like 35 tracks here, but really it's like two suites that come together to form a larger whole, and it's slight but there's also this bite to it, and I can't stop staring at that girl on the cover. *swoon* |
| Skinny wrote: |
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Mette Henriette - Mette Henriette (2015)
Been falling asleep to this the last few nights, which means I rarely make it to the second disc, so sat down and listened to the whole thing again just now. There's this quiet, ominous intensity to it that just grabs my attention throughout and keeps me hooked. Certain parts work less well than others (there's a song on the second disc that has this kinda circus-y oom-pah thing going on that doesn't really do a lot for me), but given the range of material here, and the sheer amount, this is an impressively consistent collection, especially given it's her debut album as bandleader. I love the clarity on display throughout, there's just a really clean feel to everything here, but the intimacy means that you pick up little imperfections that only add to the appeal, as though I'm listening through a magnifying glass (erm, a magnifying glass for the ears, or something). The first disc could be a movie soundtrack, the way it repeatedly incorporates a couple of melodic motifs sporadically throughout, whereas the second disc feels as though it has more of a narrative arc, with moments of action and violence occasionally cropping up out of that melancholy, ever-so-slightly menacing quiet. It's one of the best records I've heard all year (I'm talking top five), a genuinely gorgeous work that recalls Satie, Messiaen, Coltrane, Ornette, Eno, but manages to carve out its own subtly muscular identity. I feel that a lot of the stuff that gets released on ECM is pretty bland and stuffy, but this is a record to get excited about. Extremely highly recommended, obviously. |
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
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