After the shadows deriving from the sense of loss of the debut “I'll Look For You In Others” and the joyful rebirth of the following “See-Through”, Patricia Wolf relies on the recent passion for the observation and study of birds to give shape to her third solo work. The tape – edited by the newly formed Nite Hive of Penelope Trappes – can be understood, in fact, as a sort of soundtrack for a non-existent documentary on the life of birds in the complex era of the Anthropocene, based on the memory of what was seen and on the recordings made during the long sessions of birdwatching that have totally absorbed the Portland-based composer.
The proposed aural path combines the concreteness of the field recordings to the free synthetic interpretation elaborated on machines and software, re-proposing the artifice/nature mix at the base of Wolf's sound practice. Direct experiences, folklore and environmentalist considerations guide the construction of electronic textures with a changing tone, combining the dance of luminescent drops of title track to the deep disquiet of the spectral vapors of “Mourning The Varied Thrush That Struck A Window And Died”, the fleeting naturalistic contemplation of “Golden-Crowned Sparrow” to the strident digital transfigurations of “I Don't Want To Live In A World Without Birds”.
The result is a comfortable ambient itinerary, divided between soft quiet (“Bewick's Wren”) and crepuscular suspensions (“Nocturnal Migration”), a journey full of references to the lesson of Laurie Spiegel and contained flashes of minimalism. What is outlined is an immersive environment still founded on the pre-eminence of the emotional data, the figure of an approach increasingly in the process of being defined, from which it is legitimate to expect further quality results. For the moment we enjoy this loving look at a part of the world to be protected and jealously preserved.
07/31/2024
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM