Splice — Silent Spoke
The first piece, Dustdevil, straight away highlights a few things about Silent Spoke. The overall atmosphere is reminiscent of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - or at least, it feels like Splice are pushing that way. Distorted bass, a lumbering rhythm, and general moves towards a stately eeriness. However, the track never really achieves any great heights, torn between jazzy abstractions and more rockist forms. What it does do, though, is introduce some of the elements of Splice that live on throughout the album. It might be a personal thing, but it feels like the bass is often trying to be heavy and noisy; however, it has to be said that it never really succeeds in this. The drumming is often very precise and deliberate, and whilst this is clearly a good thing, it does sometimes fall into the trap of sounding ‘tappy’ - this isn’t helped by the production, which leaves the kit sounding small and slight. Indeed, the whole quartet generally come across as a little polite, though there are points of intensity. Looking at the line-up, you might think that Splice was founded on bass and drums, with the wind and brass dancing over the top; however, whether it’s through deliberate playing, or a quirk of production, all four instruments are often quite balanced in terms of presence. This has the obvious effect of creating an ‘unusual’ sound-field, quite distanced from standard jazz or rock. However, it also leaves the album somewhat unanchored, not solid in places; it’s almost a little ‘light’.
If I was polite, I’d say that Silent Spoke isn’t my cup of tea. The quartet cover a lot of ground, but not always successfully to my ears. The album is fundamentally rooted in jazz (indeed, Bonney’s trumpet often nods to the electric sound of Miles Davis), but also gets dragged towards more rock areas, as well as free improv, and near-electroacoustic, with the laptops looping and processing. These laptop elements are used well on the title track, which has a nice sound and depth to it, and this textural detail is also prevalent in the swirling drone of Dew Point. This unison restraint also comes to the fore on Colour Casts, with its more traditional ensemble playing; whilst Bohren & Der Club Of Gore are evoked again on Reverse Clearing, though this time with more cemetery resonance. The last track, La Pluie, is perhaps the most interesting on Silent Spoke: a meandering, chattering, noisy drone, that sometimes sounds like an air-raid, complete with slowed-down sirens. It’s a great ending to the album. However, I’m going to have to close this review with the cop-out, that Splice most definitely have the potential to produce something that will ravish my ears - but it isn’t Silent Spoke.