JagjaguwarRichard Youngs : River through howling Sky (UK,2004)**°'
Really strange how the amplified guitar chords are taken so slowly, step by step, and the bass is nothing but a confirming rhythm, and the percussion an even larger minimal large step, and the singing / words are the actual lead. In this way the singer-songwriting concept isn’t changed upside down, but the different rhythmical aspects makes it more experimental, almost avant-garde, within the recognisable standards (in the beginning confusingly slowly). The second track “Blossom”, is an even more a “normal” song, with enough space to breath, and a wide time-span to listen to the experiment of sounds itself, thanks to the stretched melodic evolution of the instrumental part. “Sky upon you” is a shorter song, even more into a normal time-span vision, with acoustic guitar, some electronica, and some similar electric guitar arpeggios, and some more ethereal synthesizers on the background, with a large section for the instrumental bit. Last 24 minute track, "Red Cloud Singluar" closes the section, in the left over water ripples mood of the instrumental concept, with the singer expressing its vision further and similarly, until he's becomming more and more a whole with the expressive musical undulations. In some way the ideas here are minimal and standardized further, depending on the whole slow evolution. Perhaps the looped repetitions in the last track might be a bit long, even when the expressions needs length to show its strength this way inside the calmness. I still think the musical concept was, in a deep concentrated listen, successful in expressing a "RIVER -the musical evolution- THROUGH HOWLING SKY -as the electric guitar-"
