Paik
The Orson Fader
(Clairecords)
If you enjoy squalling walls of massive guitars and absolutely thick sheets of textured post rock landscapes (with an emphasis on "rock"), Paik has created an album for you. Although there are only three members of the group, they make the most of things in absolutely pouring out just about the juiciest sounds each of them can get. Guitars rumble and reverberate out into the next time zone while basslines shake loose the floorboards. Hell, everything is so thick with reverb and delays that sometimes it sounds like the group is being amplified up while playing at the bottom of an abandoned missile silo.
Hovering somewhere between Mogwai, Tarentel, Explosions In The Sky and My Bloody Valentine, The Orson Fader is the third album from the group, and it's by far their most realized. The release opens with "Detroit," and although it's obviously just a warmup, the track heaves and groans under the weight of all three parts of the group pushed to their limit. Guitar and bass play along together, locked in some thick dropstep as toms and cymbals ring out to eternity. Eventually, the track gives way to "Tall Winds," and the album starts off a little more in earnest. After some nice guitar and bass interplay, the group again locks into an absolutely thunderous chorus, bleeding EQ levels red and letting loose a dense wall.
"Purple" arrives as one of the best tracks on the disc, as the opening leaves all instruments room to breath nicely, playing out all of the things that I mentioned above. Guitars ring out with almost a Southeastern twang while the bass adds a thick backbone and drum sounds wash out over a wide expanse. After building into another loud crescendo and subsequent moment of swirling noise, I'm suddenly reminded of the slogan that was printed on the back of the recent Lift To Experience album ("Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Playing With One Guitar").
That last statement is one of chutzpa, but Paik really does manage to amaze with their shifting textures of sound. Sure, the quiet/loud thing has been done before many a time, but the way the group has laid things down brings something slightly new to the table yet. Although the sound is a smidge on the muddy side at times, The Orson Fader absolutely drops the gauntlet at moments, and the time spent getting to there is almost just as nice. The album-titled "Orson Fader" runs for just over 8 minutes, but like many of the other tracks on the disc, the sounds alone that are pulled out of the instruments will leave you a bit spaced out. In the end, some of the tracks blur together a bit because the song structures tend to follow somewhat similar paths, but if you're one of those people who like to sit back and absorb undulating waves of amazing guitar textures, this is 12 songs and just over an hour of pure bliss.
Rating: 7.5
