Reviews - “Passing Strange”

“Passing Strange” review by AmbiEntrance

Steamy, streamy billows whoosh like jet trails through Unanswered Questions" (9:44) by John Pemble; the winds seem to stir up ancient voices and stellar radiance. "The Coveted Mirror" glimmers and gleams with metallic energies and shapeless emissions, courtesy of Jeff Karsin's electronic reflections. Sparse tribal touches appear along the rumbling/sheening flight path of The Autumn Project's "Blackbird".

Eastern-dweller Brian Parnham nonetheless forges a winding trail through imaginary badlands of Used and Left to Rust; feminine vocal strands hover above the plodding desert-beats. Kirk Watson takes "Forward Steps" which seem to follow in Steve Roach's techno-indigenous tracks, doing so nicely as ancient-sounding rhythms patter into dreamstate swirls.

After a spacious-yet-eerie intro, an almost-jazziness pervades the otherwise inscrutable atmospheres which slink through project-coordinator Biff Johnson's "Lupine" (11:26). The phantasmal entities which whirl through David Hasting's "Brush with the Lions" seem quite riled-up; even the (disparately different) dancefloor-ready beatronics don't seem to slow their divebomb swooping maneuvers...

Rather than passing time with a passing fancy, spend it exploring the timeless, placeless zones of Passing Strange. The Various artists within all have a more-than-passing interest in forging appealingly mysterious soundworlds in which you may wander. B.

This review posted 01.13.02

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