rec.extern

Since forming Radian in Vienna back in 1996, Martin Brandlmayr, John Norman, and Stephan Nemeth have been recording fascinating puzzles -- those sliding-square types broken up over a grid you hear ... more

Since forming Radian in Vienna back in 1996, Martin Brandlmayr, John Norman, and Stephan Nemeth have been recording fascinating puzzles -- those sliding-square types broken up over a grid you hear rather than see. The puzzles wouldn't be so fascinating if all the pieces were present, but Radian plays up on the mystery that technology permits. With their first domestic full-length, rec.extern, the trio members (along with visiting Thrill Jockey godfather John McEntire) have welded together 40 minutes of ornate electro-acoustic white noise, grey noise, floating noise, hydraulic noise, and any other nondescript noise they can sample on their computers. Not to be confused with labelmates Oval, who more or less "play" clusters of skipping compact discs, Radian rounds out its glitch symphonies with a live set of vibes, bass, drums, and synth. The results convey a bit more soul, but the heavy processing can't be ignored. The songs "Nahfeld" and "Kilvo" follow a similar flight path -- terrifyingly crisp and cold mechanics mingle with vibes in suspended animation, while waves of bass pedal and bowed glass slither around acoustic drums that blister up with distortion. Compositionally, the momentum of both comes to a complete halt more than once, and it's debatable as to whether this creates tension or dissipates it. "Jet" shuffles with a good balance between acoustic and static; it's one of the only tracks that feels like the live music is fueling the electronic sputtering rather th... less