Quiet in a World Full of Noise

Spencer Zahns placid and sorrowful opening piano notes and Dawn Richards whispered if conspicuous entrance -- "Life draped me in an unfitted white dress" (whew) -- signal that the duos second album together is not a sequel to Pigments, their first. Circumstances alone differentiate the LPs. Quiet in a World Full of Noise is based on solo piano pieces that Zahn recorded after a breakup. His instrument was tuned to the acoustics of the room, lending a slightly unorthodox quality to the results. Zahn had no desire to do anything with them until Richard listened and was impelled to write. The collaboration grew with strings from Bryan Senti and brass from CJ Camerieri, plus synthesizer and fretless and upright basses from Zahn, and swelled with the addition of the Budapest Film Orchestras sensitive support -- one grand display excepted -- in the second of three movements. The piano lines capture Zahn in an unmoored state. Soured romance barely scratches the surface of what Richard is processing. She struggles with the murder of her cousin and examines the dynamics of her relationships with her mother and severely ailing father. Self-preservation is a recurring theme, written about in a particularly vulnerable way throughout the delicate title song and later "Diets," where Richard seems to be gathering strength as she sings softly about tightening her inner circle. "The Dancer" turns up the heat with a send-off to someone who courted evil. Richard finds space elsewhere to honor her family with affection and humor and to celebrate and recharge herself. In contrast to Pigments, on which Richard found a way into Zahns constructions like another instrument, this puts the singer at the fore with somber and serene performances that are purely documented and not lacking in potency. Zahn and his fellow instrumentalists provide sympathetic accompaniment that is too far too alluring to be classified strictly as ambient; it facilitates the intent to provide respite for the listener. A kind of survival tool, Quiet in a World Full of Noise is one of the most remarkable albums either artist has made. ~ Andy Kellman

カッティングエッジなR&Bシンガーとアンビエント系のマルチ奏者による異色コラボの第2弾。室内楽的アンサンブルによる環境音楽風アプローチは2年前の前作同様で、音の一要素として放たれるドーン・リチャードの深沈とした声とともに、あらゆるノイズを遮断した静寂の空間を生み出している。自己を見つめ直すヒーリング・タイムに没入させる〈音浴〉感のある怪作だ。
bounce (C)林剛