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Dusted Reviews
Artist: irr. app. (ext.) Album: Perekluchenie Label: Beta-Iactam Ring Review date: Jun. 3, 2006 |
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“Oh my God – his butt is like…it’s in the wrong place, like a willy. It’s on the place where the willy goes!”
I had to include this little speech fragment, one of many from Irr. App. (Ext.)’s latest, Perekluchenie. It’s fascinating on so many levels, not least of which being that it’s one of the few moments that works linearly, that makes any kind of cognitive sense, when the distance between points A and B is traveled in a straight line. It’s also humorously cute to hear that little charming kid bespeaking such brutal anatomical dislocation.
The soundscapes throughout this brief disc follow suit. I hate to resort to childish description, but how else am I to articulate my perverse delight at the moment in “Hypothetical Tardigrade Pt. 4-6” when the little alien dog comes too close and gets bonked on the head?
Then there’s the music, and yes, there’s plenty of music here. irr. app. (ext.) is often compared with Nurse with Wound, and the way that both can shock with moments of extreme accessibility amidst the equally abundant abstraction is both satisfying and baffling. “Wretched Density” is nothing more than a gorgeous guitar piece, finding a home somewhere between raga-rock and that low twangy Duane Eddy thing. I could have listened to that slow droningly rhythmic build as long as it lasted, even if it took the rest of the disc to play itself out, but this healthy slab of surrealism is about contrast. It’s about the way one sound relates to another, builds on another, entirely subverts another, like a willy in the wrong place. It’s often too scary to be completely funny, too funny to be concrete, too concrete to be kitschy, and it’s all wonderfully recorded. Perekluchenie is different from anything else in this prolific artist’s portfolio – which isn’t saying very much, considering every disc is a unique journey.
By Marc Medwin
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