Jarboe

Ex-Swans member Jarboe wrote and recorded a song, "Under." The duo Telecognac (Chris Rosenau and Jon Mueller) used it as source material to create three untitled tracks included on this short album, Over. The original song seems to have included a simple post-rockish guitar motif, soft vocals, and something like a piano bridge. Telecognac broke it down into tiny bits and reconstructed a laid-back but jagged groove, using the pulsation from the guitar as a leitmotiv. In the two long movements at the beginning and end of this work (16 and 14 minutes, respectively), the guitar motif is topped by a recombined piano line, clarinet, synthesizer, and drums. In both cases, Jarboe's voice appears only for a few minutes halfway into the pieces. Intensive editing of the vocal line has rendered lyrics indecipherable. The second movement presents a different structure: It is a short instrumental piece dominated by the same guitar pulse, but this time played backward. Even though there are interesting variations, as a whole Over quickly becomes repetitive and your appreciation of it will depend on your fondness of studio cut-and-paste techniques and linear post-rock landscapes. Both Rosenau and Mueller have released much more exciting music. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide