When this little blog first took flight, the first ink spilled was for a self-titled cassette by a project named Isness. Half of the Isness duo is Oakland-based musician Matt Robidoux, a coastal transplant who ran with Sunburned Hand of the Man when he was located nearer to the Atlantic Ocean. He is a purveyor of fine songcraft, and Brief Candles – his latest tape – totally spills the beans with respect to his deftness in musical ideation.
There are 17 performers other than Robidoux who are credited as being involved in these compositions, which were realized over a 2-year period beginning in 2017. Each individual lends their distinct musical signature, playing loosely within the framework that Robidoux has assembled. “Rose Room” leads the proceedings, as the composer croons atop a scrappily strummed guitar and wobbly wind instrument melodies. The piece swoons, staggers a little bit and tumbles around before collapsing entirely. Taking a completely contrarian position to the preceding piece, the instrumental “Little Wall” is a tightly wound composition, complete with a staccato section in which each instrument pierces the silence with its voice. I sense the influence of Gastr Del Sol here, but I could be wrong.
Robidoux sways between weirdness and complete control across the length of this tape, and it’s actually quite refreshing. Veering between precision and looseness allows for subtle shifts in tone as each piece reveals itself, piquing our interest over and over again. One particular piece that exemplifies the complete array of sensibilities is the epic “Reflection Space”, which begins with an understated synth warble before morphing into something almost completely motorik in nature a la Neu! Then the horns enter, stumbling over each other in an attempt to freak everyone out. Robidoux attempts to calm things down with his soothing voice, which only heightens the intensity even more. This track alone is worth the price of admission.
Robidoux still has copies of this imaginative and attention-grabbing cassette, so steer your ship over to yonder Bandcamp and slap a few bucks down for this one. You’ll thank me later.
