Extractioning

Compiled from two earlier EPs then further revamped into a cassette release, Extractioning is a brief but compelling look into Drekka (aka Michael Anderson)'s ability with a variety of approaches, from skeletal folk to guitar-derived ambience, chopped-up snippets of psalm singing to inspired cover versions. Starting with the glowering feedback loom/fragile acoustic guitar of "Extractioning," one of Drekka's best in an openly Flying Saucer Attack-styled vein, Extractioning uses its schizophrenia to its advantage -- everything feels like the work of the same person, but keeps the listener engaged with the changes as well as piece for piece. Some numbers like "Love Without Sound" and "Entitled" assay a full-band approach (thanks to the help of Jimmy Volltar on drums), with ramshackle but right results. Elsewhere, near-minimalism is the rule, with one of Drekka's all-time best, the a cappella overdub chant/mantra of "Possibilities," demonstrating that in spades. Even a seemingly simple song like "untitled sketch," consisting of little more than a fuzzy organ melody repeated a few times with variations, makes for a moving, melancholy listen. The cover versions are both among the disc's winners, the first being Cat Power's "What Would the Community Think?" Hearing Anderson's voice deliver Chan Marshall's plaintive, wounded lyric like a distant ghost as guitars and bells echo through a vast-sounding mix is thoroughly moving. The second is a cover of Donovan's "There Is a Mountain," with a fairly straightforward, if reverb-treated vocal delivery by Anderson, spiked with clipping feedback sounds and other noises, like an alien broadcast from an old folk club. ~ Ned Raggett|