Mark Swed wrote in the Los Angeles Times, about Lang's work, that
"There is no name yet for this kind of music", and in
some respects he is correct. It isn't minimal in the Glass/Reich
sense of the word. Nor is it New Age, transcendental, experimental,
trance, elusive, dance or fusion. Like the wonderful, and equally
exciting, John Luther Adams, it's all of these things and none
of them.
Basically,
it's music, pure and simple; raw, energetic, exciting, thoughtful
music. Pierced has all of these qualities. It's a relentless
onslaught, in the manner of some of Zappa's compositions, but
with much more interest, better scored and with a real sense
of where it's going. Lang calls it a Concerto, but without the
usual confrontation between soloist and orchestra. Certainly
there is no give and take, it's in–yer–face music, and it doesn't
take prisoners. It's angular, rhythmic, elemental stuff, never
letting up for a moment of its short duration. It's very satisfying,
the work making a perfect whole, knowing exactly where it stands
in the musical scheme of things. This work is worth the modest
price of the disk alone. It's fabulous.
Lang's
arrangement of Lou Reed's Heroin is set for voice with
a Bach–like accompaniment for solo cello. This is very haunting
indeed, a beautiful meditation based on the simplest of material.
Bleckmann's husky vocals are just right for the music he is
given and Fann plays easily and blends well with the voice.
When it ends we're left suspended in mid air.
Cheating,
Lying, Stealing is a very funky
piece, full of the angularity we have come to expect from Lang,
which fragments towards the end. There's a very exciting use
of silence which breaks up the flow and disquiets the listener
just as one has got used to the forward momentum. How to
Pray inhabits a totally different sound-world, using only
percussion, keyboards and amplified cello. It has a bluesy feel
to it, is loud and hard–edged, unrelenting in its outlook and
is quite a difficult listen. This needs some study to get to
the heart of the matter but it’s well worth it.
To
end, a piano solo – Wed, from a cycle called Memory
Pieces – which gently moves between major and minor. The
notes in the booklet, which consist of a conversation between
the composer and pianist Andrew Russo, call this trance-like.
It certainly inhabits a world where time seems to have stood
still. It makes a very relaxed, and unexpected, ending to a
very stimulating disk of music by a composer who hasn’t really
been discovered in the UK, and deserves to be better known.
These
performances are totally committed and carry the stamp of authority.
The sound is very good, easily capturing the bigness of Pierced
yet having an intimate feel in Wed. As always with David
Lang, I was left wanting more. I think that his special art
will have you on the edge of your seat feeling the same. I hope
so, for your sake.
Bob
Briggs
