hototogisu
chimärendämmerung
062 CD

Hototogisu are Marcia Bassett and Matthew Bower, and they dwell upon two continents (Marcia in brooklyn NY and matthew in leeds UK). Both share rich discographical heritage. Marcia has recorded with numerous labels (siltbreeze, time-lag, eclipse, troubleman unlimited, etc.) with UN, GHQ and the Double Leopards, and Matthew with Total, Skullflower, Sunroof!, Vibracathedral Orchestra and more. A Wikipedia entry in his name clearly (sic) illustrates his cultural heft: "Bower's huge discography of visceral, free drone-rock is probably the most formidable of its kind and he was rightly considered in 2005 by The Wire to be one of the map co-ordinates for much of what passed for a post-punk UK underground during most of the 80s and 90s" (issue 259) . Chimarendammerung is the 3rd Hototogisu release on Destijl and the 5 untitled walls of vertical viola drone / overtone, lapped by shifting electronic waves of feedback, blackened guitars, rhinegold cast deep into dying rivers, an instrumental cycle of conflict, of the birth of a supreme aristocratic beauty into a fallen world, and its inevitable conflagration, then a glimmer of hope of escape from the cycle, in tune w/ the breath of the cosmos, like a glacial reimagining of van der graafs 'a plague of lighthouse keepers', and it represents a current plateau for the duo.

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HOTOTOGISU - Chimärendämmerung (De Stijl)
Making it through the final track of Chimärendämmerung, the latest from productive UK/Brooklyn duo Hototogisu, inspired a head-scratching, "Where's my copy of Skullflower's Carved Into Roses?" (It took a while, but I finally found it in my unalphabetized piles, stuck between Harry Pussy's What Was Music? and Richard Youngs's Advent). Twelve years later, Roses remains a perfect swarm. Not to mention that its craggy, mountainy hell-fire cover painting looks a lot like the less-colorful collage on the front of Double Leopards' glacial 2005 treat, Savage Summer Sun. Could be coincidental. Could be flat-out homage! Seriously, check the angle of the right-side slope for uncanny Bob Ross accuracy. Either way, it's obvious the Leopards studied (or at least bonged out to) Matthew Bower's projects—Skullflower, Total, Sunroof!, et al.
What makes this extended art-historical lecture noteworthy (if you didn't know, or couldn't guess) is that Hototogisu is comprised of the metallurgical king himself joining forces with the Leopards' Marcia Bassett. She reinvigorates his approach; he pushes her beyond her concurrent configurations. (Should be noted, too: Chimärendämmerung includes a cut-out picture of a leopard as well as some sorta big-cat skull.)
Musically, track five, the cumulative finale, nails the viola, spilt electronics and guitar feedback best. It's the shortest of the lot, but B&B Noise Factory manage to fold in three times the sounds: Every last crumb of Chimärendämmerung's clatter scowls towards it. Where other pieces float and striate (airing out), it never stops rubbing faces in metallic muck (box your ears: it starts sounding like Nachtmystium). Yeah, it may tear cacophony a new asshole, but a line of elegant sustain bubbles through the sand pit—follow its line of flight to avoid suffocation. So, you're doing as instructed, but like your oxygen really has moseyed, the piece cuts out mid-howl. Perhaps a nod to Four Violins? Okay, I'll stop. But seriously, this is one heavy bird call.
- BRANDON STOSUY
www.paperthinwalls.com