thomas belHolding the digi-pack of Toulouse's Thomas Bel debut didn't look too promising. The design looks a bit worn-out, like some neo-classical bullshit. The first sounds didn't push too much farther either, loops laying on each other, reminds me a bit of MAIM old stuff. hmm, something is not working here. BUT - and that's the greatness of this album, is that as long as you keep on listening, you getting sucked in. Like a Bella Tarr movie, it slowly developed, but strongly built, so it hunts you, and makes you play it again. And again. Bel use variety of loops, field reccordings, and acoustic instruments (guitar, cello) and create a minimalistic, floaty late-night haze. This body of work sounds like a combination between William Basinski's melancholic minimalism and Vincent Gallo's ascetic midnight songs. There is a nice contrast between the trimmed samples and the lingering of the live instruments, the hum of the amplifier and the vibration of the strings. For example on the Les Vagues track, a repetitive guitar pluck reverbing slowly through the track back and forth while shakers & crackers samples joining alongside, almost taking over. Through the middle of the records his vocals appears, increasing this melancholic nocturne, making this release a personal and intimate piece. --omer schwartz
:: Thoma Bel - The Birds are still the Monarchs - Annexia CD 07
