Brian Olewnick on Heavy Objects

A rare missive from Brian Olewnick’s woodsy retreat:

How nice to have some new Fraufraulein! Anne Guthrie (French horn, objects) and Billy Gomberg (electronics, bass guitar) have a special way of creating all-but-casual soundscapes from found materials and horn snippets, often subtly underlined by Gomberg’s essentially melodic take on things. There’s a relaxed feeling, walking speed, but extremely observant, choosing sounds with a balance of care and nonchalance. There’s a sense of a pure field recording that happens to contain musical elements as part of the environment, as when the (I think) small horn burps bubble to the surface about 12 minutes into ‘One of Us Always Tells the Truth’; very engaging. Firecrackers in the street begin side two, ‘When We Evaporate’, sharing space with muffled bass plucks and soft, wistful horn lines, all soon blending with the general, urban ambience outside the window. More small explosions, as though recorded on July 4th or Chinese New Year, airplanes passing, distant radio. Toward the end, the bass becomes a bit more insistent, even establishing a rhythm, Guthrie’s horn wafting atop, a very fine coalescing of all that’s transpired before. Excellent work all around, a real treasure. More, please.