4 out of 5

Produced by: Total

Label: VHF

I could spend forever listening to Total’s Eternity’s Beautiful Frontispiece.  This might be its only detracting trait.

The noise and/or improv output of the VHF label, assuming you’re inclined to listen and enjoy, surely covers a wide range of emotions, and, as part of that, different approaches to the genres.  Matthew Bower’s impressive output (not at all confined to VHF, though that’s how I’ve become familiar with him), under various names, often represents an otherworldly ebbing and flowing of discontent and wonder, which I adore.  When he’s paired with other artists, the effect is suitably affected, but his main projects – Total, which evolved into Sunroof! and Skullflower – pretty consistently hit that sweet spot for me.

Eternity, one of Total’s final releases, is gorgeous.  I think there’s beauty in a lot of Bower’s stuff, but the aspect that makes the album quite repeatable is its seamlessness; its peace with itself.  It feels very internal, but then expresses that outward, like a Buddhist chant.  Though Bower is never quite minimalist-minded enough to make drone, the focus on tape loop sounds, and “lazy” feedback (it sorts of comes and goes and hovers, instead of being applied disruptively),  and less clatter than general over – god bless – audible guitar on Tapestry or the floating vocals on A Faithful Surge, all add up to a rather soothing listen.  Which makes it seem less immediate than most Bower stuff, and thus maybe backroundable.  Your ear isn’t coerced to listen, per se.

That’s not to imply the disc will slot in next to mum’s nature sounds disc.  Harsh distortion kicks us off with the excellent 10-minute opener of Blustery Day on the Wind Farm, and the wandering xylophone (or whatever) on Nodding Out adds that ominous element back in to the dream, underlined by the return of kitchen-sink clatter on follow-up The Yellow Sound, which I’d consider the disc’s centerpiece, with its awesomely down-mixed jazz freak out and whatever manipulated wood-sounding instrument leading the way for 6 minutes.

The disc concludes with two ten minute bliss-outs, Zina and Pink Light, which come closer to Sunroof! wall-of-sound territory but smoothed over with the more organic vibe of the disc.

On the whole, Eternity is an experience, and one of equal greatness to much of Bower’s catalogue.  The experience is a bit more level-headed this time, making the album a bit easier on the ears and perhaps a bit less entrancing, but not without ample rewards.