Wim Mertens

Taking its name from one of Ezra Pound's cantos, Usura combines tracks from two of Belgian post-minimalist composer Wim Mertens' earliest releases, Struggle for Pleasure and Vergessen. Although both EPs were still in print when this reissue came out in 1985, Mertens had recently dropped the group name Soft Verdict, under which they were originally released. 1983's Struggle for Pleasure is subtitled "petite musique de chambre," which sounds a bit stuffy, but it's indicative of Mertens' talent that one of these six tracks, the hauntingly beautiful piano instrumental "Close Cover," actually became a European hit single. Although "Close Cover" is the clear highlight, the other tracks are beautifully arranged pieces of modern chamber music. Mertens is clearly heavily influenced by American minimalist composers -- "Gentleman of Leisure" could not sound more like Glassworks-era Philip Glass -- but he brings his own brilliant compositional sense and a genuine gift for unexpected arrangements to these pieces. "Tourtour" and "Bresque," two pieces for soprano saxophone and harp, reveal entirely unexpected textures from both instruments. 1982's Vergessen is a more obviously derivative work, with Mertens' debts to the early work of Terry Riley, Glass, and Steve Reich even more pronounced. However, even here, Mertens' arranging skills keep the results from sounding like mere plagiarism. Each of these four tracks (Usura, unfortunately, deletes two of Vergessen's better pieces, "Circular Breathing" and "Inergys (Reprise)") features a unique group of instruments, from the simple four-hand piano exercise "4 Mains" to the eccentric pairing of skirling piccolo and growling crumhorn on the divine "Mildly Skeeming." The manic, almost circus-like "Inergys" has the wit of John Cage or Erik Satie. The additive "Multiple 12" is perhaps the most pedestrian and derivative piece on Usura, but even it benefits from the intriguing textures of Frans Vos' overdubbed, intertwining viola parts and another appearance by Mertens' crumhorn, which sounds not unlike the drone of a bass bagpipe here. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide