Richard Youngs & Matthew Bower - Site/Realm

All Music Guide

Site/Realm is a very experimental recording. Sounding rather like a hybrid of, then labelmates, Flying Saucer Attack and avant maverick, Keiji Haino, Bower and Youngs work with some excruciatingly lo-fi guitar haze and little else over the course of the album's only two tracks. Yet, where FSA used distortion as a means to explore ghostly, introspective melodies, here the aesthetic is applied seemingly as a end in and of itself. This is especially the case on “Site", the entirety of side one, during which the only changes are those of volume or sheer noise density. “Realm", on the other hand, varies a bit more, employing some percussive post-Derek Bailey plinks and plunks. All said, these extended pieces don't offer a great deal in the way of conflict and resolution but, clearly, that isn't the point here. Bower and Youngs seem influenced as much by early Sonic Youth as they do the string improvisations of John Cale and Tony Conrad, making this recording sound somewhat like a mid-90's i...ndie rock Dream Syndicate. Surely the above description will send at least a few hearts fluttering but beware; this is some harsh and abrasive music suited only for fans of avant-garde guitar experimentation. - Brandon Burke, All Music Guide Read more Less