Tom + Gerry
Fire Works
Umbrella
Hot off the blazed trail of their release on the reputable Erstwhile record label, the duo of Tom Lehn and Gerry Hemingway return for another bout with Fire Works.
The release clocks in at nearly 70 minutes. It is a hard listen. It sounds like all of their kitchenware is perpetually falling out of their drawers, in a state of almost suspended clank. Everything is at the point of impact, the music isn’t about scales and chord shapes, it’s about the moment where sound pops. The title, Fire Works, explains all of that fairly well.
It’s a crushing release. A display of deeply concentrated interplay. Yet, as a listener, I can’t help but wonder how I’m supposed to sit patiently for an entire album when it’s constantly pushing the same emotion, the same sense of explosiveness, the same timbral range; no matter how deftly Tom and Gerry manage to pull it off.
I don’t want to dissuade anyone from hearing this release. It’s great that there are people out there making this kind of music, and I believe it should be supported. The recording was just a challenge I couldn’t overcome.
Umbrella Recordings: http://www.umbrellarecordings.com
