(from CWSY#6, August '01) / home / reviews index

Posta Lowa - 'Everything That Connects You' (Spiteful)
Experiments in minimalism: two constant members, minimal vocals, minimal sound, even when joined by a 'Guitar Orchestra' - it all leads to minimal tunes.

That's not to say that this debut album from the Norwich collective recently-turned-trio isn't listenable. It's perfect for when you're feeling fragile and want to listen to music only marginally more imposing than silence. 'Summertown' laps gently at the ears like a distorted sea, bare acoustics and wordless wailing; cello-augmented 'Mid-Fidelity' and 'Netheredge Skylines' are just lovely, bare as trees in a field at the end of autumn, but with a hint of life and hope. The latter tune builds out of nowhere, changes tack… but then just stops. With these "hear a moped zoom by and you'll miss them" moments, Posta Lowa demand a patient listener. Less welcome is 'H. Palindrome', a mess of shouting buried in noise; even someone able to appreciate the barren beauty of 'Christmas' would be hard-pressed to see the point in this. 'Kristeva', a ten-minute track with nine guitarists, at least has a rhythm rising out of the resulting murk. There's just such a lack of tuneage it puts Mogwai detractors to shame! Classify this album as a bold experiment, but the results as 'mixed'; is the aim to soothe, to irritate or to inspire? I love the sound of a guitar undergoing nuclear meltdown ('Grace') but it's always more interesting when allied with a song, a tune or even just a back beat, letting the whole combination fall apart in glorious disorder. Ones to watch, certainly, but to listen to with the 'skip' button at hand.

Spiteful Records, Cornerways, New North Rd, Attleborough, Norfolk, NR17 2BJ. www.spiteful.i12.com