- A master of minimalism doing what he does best.
- The reappraisal of Ohio innovator Charles Noel has followed the usual arc. First the record diggers got excited and Discogs prices soared. Then came a wave of new-old material to satisfy the demand. This material—a partner record to 2003's Le Nid D'Oiseau, a belated third release under Noel's Glyph alias and a pair of EPs for the Bright Sounds label—has confirmed that the hype is totally justified. Crisp, concise and rhythmically fresh, Noel's Detroit-influenced music still sounds futuristic two decades after he started. This two-tracker focusses on lower tempos. (Future Primitive's Milo Bragg has a thing for slow stuff.) The label isn't saying whether its tracks are new or old, but they build satisfyingly on Noel's recent output.
"A Mental Image," in particular, picks up where the slow-mo house parts of those Bright Sounds EPs left off. Its central loop, a lush pad and some evocative chirrups and whirs, drifts ever-so-gently in and out of focus over a sloping four-on-the-four rhythm. The bassline is a happy sinewave burble, giving the lax groove some gentle locomotion. "Form Of Change" plays its cards closer to its chest. With its syncopated beat and clipped sci-fi bleeps, it could be a pitched-down tribal techno cut. The soundworld is dry and the arrangement spare, and the only drama comes from a dissonant pad that takes over in the closing minutes, leaving you with a vaguely spooky feeling. Abstract Analogy shows a master of minimalism doing what he does best.
TracklistA Form Of Change
B A Mental Image