Photostatic Retrofuturist (Psrf) #48
Box of Blue Paper Clips by Escape Mechanism
October, 1997
Playful and of a relatively subdued energy atypical of this (still?) embryonic genera, these sound pieces nonetheless display a certain nervy (plagiaristic) wit - as well as pronounced sensitivity to issues of listenability. What I like about these works, of which there are six, is the lack of imperative to shock, or to make you guffaw at the sheer silliness of their sources in a kind of bloated condescention. Escape Mechanism (a.k.a. Jon Nelson) builds evocative contexts out of decidedly auditory imperatives and what sense is made of them is poetic, more than indicative, in nature. The works have a number of structural failings, however. There is a tendency to be too repetitive at times, and perhaps even a bit too sparse in the mix. But what works here works well, and I would look forward to a follow up.
- Lloyd Dunn
