3 out of 5

Label: Box Bedroom Rebels

Produced by: Tiny Vipers?

Okay, I think I’ve been through this enough times now to feel like I have an opinion.  I swayed waaaay back and forth, wondering how to consider this – as the 7″, as the CD, or as the download version of the package – download code provided with the bundle – which changes the order of tracks and includes 2 bonus tracks.  Because for a project of this nature, which is mostly minimalist – as the title suggests – ambient tracks, sparse guitar and barely detectable tape loops – the overall effect is greatly changed by the presentation.  At a high level summary, the 7″ contains the two comparitively quieter, more contemplative tracks of the set, particularly ‘Tape III’ on side B,
paired with Loren-Mazzacane Connors-esque call-and-response guitar track ‘Tape I’ on side A.  Taken separately, these are effective and haunting tracks.  The CD sets things up with the 20 minute guitar, which is way sparser than Tape I, but is then followed by the more drone / relatively loud Tape experiments II, IV and V.  The disc is closed out by two pretty excellent remixes, one with a legitimate legitimate beat (Tape II remixed by Xela) and one a nice compression of the moods effected in the Tapes, although otherwise not what those on the dancefloor would generally consider a remix – Tape I-IV remixed by Shaun Belzard.  The download reorganizes the Tapes into I – V order, then Guitar, then the two remixes, then two – frankly – godawful boring remixes of Tape I, split in Version 1 and 2 and like 15 minutes each, by Brittle Stars.

Okay part 2: Maybe I have no experience with ambience.  *This review* is pretty glowing about the collection (although it doesn’t seem to mention those Brittle Stars remixes) and mentioned a purposeful evolution of the songs toward nothingness as well as a general compositional structure which I just didn’t get.  The nothingness concept occurs to me with Tape I, which has an almost ironic call-and-response structure where the track builds up to an early crescendo and then warbles thereafter, like in shock from the noise.  This I find to be a moving rearrangement of expected buildup.  Elsewhere, though, where Jesy Fortino (aka Tiny Vipers) is just laying out textures – the
shimmering, faded vocals of Tape III or the fading-in-and-out-of-existence guitar of Guitar – the intensely cavernous recording and erasing of beginnings and endings moves me out of any emotional analysis, which I can generally apply to other minimalist stuff I’ve experienced through VHF records, and it becomes, essentially, just noise, and noise that doesn’t evoke any particular mood. Interestingly, when Tape III is isolated as Side B, it’s much easier to stay attentive and so it maintains something of a mysterious, ghostly vibe.  But once you set it between other tracks, it loses that.  Same with Guitar: as a setup to the other Tapes (CD), it makes sense.  But as a
followup to the Tapes (download), it feels like an extended afterthought.  Tapes II is, alongside Tape I, one of the only tracks that works either way, mushy keys (?) and pulses that ebb and flow, bridging the sound gap between the guitar-based tracks and noise drone tapes IV and V.  Which, out of those two, V is the winner, as a discordant tone goes higher and lower and higher for about 8 minutes; a fitting closer prior to the remixes on the CD (and a quirky juxtaposition with Tape II remixes beats), or a letdown of tension on the download, leading into Guitar.  Tape IV is like a shorter, less intense version of Tape V.  It doesn’t really “fit” on any version of this collection, but had this been extended to an album, it defintely could’ve functioned as a bridging track.

The two non-download remixes are pretty excellent in pretty different ways, and occur at the end in both instances.  Both being more “lively” than the EP itself, this works fine, as does playing Xela’s dancey remix prior to Shaun Blezard’s beatless one, since the latter acts as a reminder of what you’ve been through (in a good way!).

Ah, those download remixes.  Version I and Version II sounds to me, like “wait!  Version 1 was boring, let me try again!” and then they get to the point a little bit quicker (Version 1 starts off with like 2 minutes of nigh silence) but otherwise do exactly the same thing.  Both tracks are, maybe, quiter, murkier “remixes” of Tape I’s quiet parts, and then like 8 minutes in the volume spikes, and then it farts around for 7 more minutes or whatever.  I tried on these, turning the volume way up to milk what I could out of the silence, but I got nothing except for a sense of someone smoking weed and deciding to raise and lower the master volume on something as slowly as
they possibly could for 15 minutes.

So, yeah, since VHF is generally noisier than everything on AMBIENCE 3, maybe I have no experience with ambience, and maybe I’m not the best critic here.  I really had to listen to this several times to get any sense of it.  My first listen – all my listens were the download version – I was really moved by Tapes I – III, but would fall out of that sense halfway into tape III and never recover, and then hate myself during those bonus remixes, hence having to reconsider how the structure may effect things.  And then falling somewhere in the middle on my rating.