Swine | Blood Month
Muteant Sounds (DL)
Terrific drawn out swells, like the wake of a slow-cruising barge or a very large school of marine life, epitomize Blood Month by Swine. Aquatic lurking hisses and gurgles form the eerie ambiances produced by the unique instrumentation within this album. One can recognize the sax (Tim Hill) presence – and place it along with Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks soundtrack for organizational coherence. There are clearly electronic devices in the mix (Jon Cooke) but they are a far cry from traditional drum and bass. Michael Fairfax’s use of handmade custom stringed instruments ‘hewn from tree trunks’ gives you an idea of how special are the sonic meanderings this group improvise.
The title track, nearly indecipherable from the opening track, Blood Month and a drift in tandem, evoke a sense of slow motion. Moving through the first thirteen minutes these tracks combine to form, a kind of phase-shift comes to mind. Listeners are invited to contemplate the moon cycle as a tidal chronology. The continuous vibe and general essence is forthrightly established in time and bio-fluidity.
Bloom offers a glimpse of time-lapse photography. Is this datura (Moonflower) unfolding? If the titles here imply compositions (Glistens and Gleans, Jangle, and Swirl and Skirl) than their more lively attributes, listeners will only discover a sinking further into decelerando. The slow but massive percussion quakes in Jangle provide a strong sense of irony and cognitive dissonance. Welcome to the swamps.
The patient minimal gasping of The Wheeze of Time closes Blood Month with a reminder of the meta-concept. Blood circulates throughout the body in an average of about 45 seconds. When one is still and rapt in attention to Swine, the avant garde compositions almost allow for a cognizance of the sanguine fluid courses. Fairfax’s illustration of text (and crour) convey a grand red spillage. Holistically Swine convey in Blood Moon a set of blurred tonal fluctuations which center without exception around the macabre titular concept.
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