Serious Music

Too bad the main kind of attention this highly lauded tour de force seemed to get in Canada was that from fogies and upstarts alike who wanted to have "but is it jazz??" discussions. NO, IT ISN'T JAZZ, MORONS, ITS A GIANT SAXOPHONE HARKING JUDGEMENT DAY. There, I said it. If there is one thing other than blow minds this record did it was reaffirm the lack of ownership snobby wasps have over jazz as well as that which jazz has over the sax. This record works outside of any definable musical compartment to create a truly solitary feeling of an observed passage of time. While effective in linear flow, most of the pieces on this album manage to stop time for monolithic moments of reflection, the orations of Laurie Anderson creating diverging, polyphonic narratives throughout. Stetson's ability to create atmosphere and continuity through a kind of additive synthesis in his playing reflects beautifully the subject matter: the way in which history and war are composed through the collective memory, out of innumerable bits and pieces. The innovative and mesmerizing recording techniques employed for this H2T session give the heaviest moments of this work lumbering weight, while others (A Dream of Water) seem to float as clouds, shimmering timelessly. Arcade Fire said it themselves, this record deserved the Polaris more. It would seem we hardly deserved such a stunning accomplishment.  Thank you, Colin.

Judgement