Chuck Bettis "Sonic Sigils" CD
[Scarcelight]
20 minutes of experimental noise that begins on a chaotic, shuffling note with lots of blips, whirrs, wispy distortion, and glitchy textures and arrangements, before claming down a bit with some similar tones that come across in a more subdued manner. "Night on Fire" opens and is by far the most overactive and aggressive piece, with lots of panning effects, layering, and constant movement; followed by the two-part "P.I.E./L.I.T.L." (divided into two separate tracks on the CD) sort of taking a gradual turn towards what's to come, stripping away some of the layering and keeping the movement at a pretty significant level as the volume starts to ease back. "Light in Extension" is the first of the softer tracks, with some watery sounds and crispy reverberations creating a more coherent and consistent two-minute piece; and "Blipitle Flimalfa" is the longest selection at six minutes, another calmer piece (the quietest overall) with more repetition of some ambient undercurrents and ethereal atmospheres. "Faith is Fear" is somewhat similar to "Light in Extension" in its use of watery sounds, though this one gets brighter and more electronic in the foreground. Closer "Neuromancy" is then very quiet, once more taking a sparse ambient route with some laidback sounds similar to those in the preceding tracks, just with less foreground movement and overall activity. Of course the sound quality is clean and clear and sounds very nice, so I have no complaints on that front. The disc comes in a clear sleeve with minimal artwork and text printed directly on the disc in black, green, and white inks. The edges of the disc are clear, so it's sort of a self-packaged piece. It can be hard on the eyes but looks curious for what it is. This is an odd disc. I'm not generally into the glitchier side of things, so the first half of the disc, while not bad, isn't particularly my thing, while I enjoy some of the latter half a bit more. The great recording quality does add something to the work, so I do enjoy this for the most part, however. I'd be curious to hear more to get a better feel for Bettis' other work. (6/10)
Running time - 19:53, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: they're all pretty good, and the disc plays through almost as a whole]
Scarcelight Recordings - http://www.scarcelight.org

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