TWELLS & CHRISTENSEN - Coasts (Digitalis)

"Coasts" represents the meeting of two very different musical talents. John Twells is the head of Type Records as well as the one man musical force that is Xela, an experimental drone act that goes well beyond Touch or Kranky (or Type for that matter) orthodoxy with forays into horror soundtrack, metal, noise, and, more recently, harrowing music inspired by Christian history punctuated by choral vocals and unnerving rustic percussion that would be perfect for that moment Max Van Sydow uncovers the artifact that kicks off "The Exorcist." This is all to say that Twells is easily one of the best and most original voices in experimental music today. Matt Christensen is the guitarist/vocalist for Zelienople and member of Good Stuff House alongside Zelienople drummer Mike Weis and experimental guitar icon Scott Tuma. Christensen's music centers more on ambient rock in the vein of early Verve, Pygmalion-era Slowdive and Talk Talk, at the same time his music cannot be so easily categorized (a survey of reviews of Zelienople will uncover a plethora of references from genres as divergent as jazz and slow core to artists like Boris, Flying Saucer Attack, Peter Gabriel, Neil Young and Spiritualized). Like Twells, Christensen's music is unique in a field where too many artists sound the same. Unlike Twells, Christensen's music often tacks more toward traditional song structure, even as it remains experimental. So what a collaboration between these two was going to sound like was anyone's guess. There was little doubt that such a collaboration held promise, and it isn't exactly surprising that "Coasts" is an incredible album, what is surprising is exactly how incredible of an album that it is. I mean it when I say this is one of the best drone albums I have heard in ages, and like the two men who made it, it is wholly unique in a field that often suffers from too much sameness.

"Coasts" consists of two side long drones, each over twenty minutes long. While that fact alone isn't entirely unusual for a drone recording, what is unusual is that there are more ideas and variations within each of these pieces to make up a career's worth of music for lesser musicians.

The first piece, "The Crate," starts off languidly enough, recalling the drift of Zelienople's excellent "Ink." The piece quickly grows lusher with drones building and cascading over each other, while slight disembodied vocals work their way through the mix. About midway through, the previous CinemaScope-like drones become submerged under an array of pinpoint tones. Eventually deeper drones emerge, sounding oceanic to the point that one can't help but imagine the deep moans of whales communicating with chirping dolphins. As New Age as that sounds, I promise it is not. Eventually darker and more deeper drones overtake the light, while minor guitar flourishes abound. What is most immediately striking about this recording, and the album as a whole, is that while this is certainly drone music, there is nothing static about it. Tone, color, emotion, scope, everything changes by the second. I can't recall drone pieces this consistent that are also this dynamic. The piece comes to a graceful close with a mixture of slow glacial drones and oscillating effects.

"Burning Bridges Together" begins on a far darker note, as Christensen's single filter sweep note resounds through a blackened atmosphere. Twells' pulsating and whirling electronics, verging on psychedelia, approach the horizon every so subtly before overtaking the listener entirely with washes of wavering and unstable sound, forcing Christensen to counter with bleak laborious notes of distorted guitar. Again, disembodied vocals weave in and out only adding to the disorienting effect of the piece. Eventually Twells and Christensen settle into an oscillating threatening drone that they continue throughout the track, allowing the listener to become completely encompassed by the harrowing soundscape they have created. The only respite comes with Christensen's gently plucked motif at the end of the piece that brings the hellish miasma back down to earth.

"Coasts" was the first new recording I heard in 2011, and it has set the bar dizzingly high for the rest of the year. I've admittedly bagged on experimental and drone music from the past couple of years as simply being a retread of so many records that have come before (with the exception of William Fowler Collins and Locrian). With this record Twells and Christensen have proven that there is much life left in the genre by crafting one of its finest albums in recent memory, and in the process have made a case for experimental music all over again. As with all albums of this caliber the only thing left to say is highest recommendation possible.

A non-album recording of Twells & Christensen live

Twells/Christensen Duo from John Kolodij on Vimeo.