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Review: |
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Part of the fun of the Sine
Fiction series has been downloading and listening to releases
for things i would like to read, if i ever have the time. This
book, a tale of a parapalegic cyborg out to paint a portrait
of the angry god of a post-nuclear holocaust cult, sounds like
the type of thing i enjoy. (In a way, it seems vaguely reminiscent
of A Canticle for Liebowitz, by Walter Miller.
A great book, by the way.) It also sounds like just the sort
of thing that Zelazny (who is most famous for his Amber series)
and Dick (who wrote, among other things, works that were the
inspirations for Blade Runner, Total Recall,
and Minority Report)
would dream up together.
The music here is excellent. I cannot speak for the novel,
but Mystified really seems to have done a fine job of using
ambient electronica to capture mood. The first piece, Tibor
and the Ancients is a rumbling ambient interlude. It is
a mellow and reflective piece, perfect for the novel's main
character to reflect on those who brought the nuclear holocaust
down upon mankind, thus causing his deformities.
The second track moves along at a loping pace, and is appropriately
called Tibor Moving. Apparently this describes the portion
of the novel where he is travelling about, looking for the angry
god, so that he can paint the portrait. It is a well done piece
with a constant rhythm and plenty of strange computer noises
describing a pleasant, if odd, journey.
The next tune is Recylced T, and i am not immediately
sure what this one is about. There is a low rumble as of surf
breaking against the shoreline, so maybe Tibor's journey takes
him to the ocean. There is also an eerie bass rumble, and creepy
synth tones, so all is not right at this seashore. Still, a
nice piece that does well at setting a disconcerting mood.
Future Visionary is a more joyous song. Primal drums
clatter beyond long synth drones. This song reminds me, in some
small way, of the work of Young
American Primitive (always a good comparison) in that it
has that same combination of a joyous primal spirit with high
tech noodlings. Appropriate given the title, don't you think?
It logically flows into a pure ambient piece, the lovely Irradiated
Air. This is a song of flowing synth tones that often swell
into almost violent noise. It continually starts, builds, and
fades out. One gets the impression that old Tibor is having
a hard time holding onto consciousness in the irradiated air.
Nonetheless, this is a lovely ambient track, in which the ebb
and flow of sound create an overall relaxing atmosphere.
Finally, the journey ends with Tibor Cycled Out, a title
which doesn't leave me with much hope for a happy ending to
this novel. (Then again, happy endings never were P. K. Dick's
style.) This is a ponderous piece of sparse piano and synth
hits. Nicely done, and a lovely, if somewhat melancholy, way
to end this album.
On the whole, this is an excellent release. Even if it were
not associated with a Philip K. Dick and Roger Zelazny novel
i would enjoy it tremendously. In fact, i would go so far as
to say that this is the highpoint of the Sine Fiction series:
high praiase considering how much i have enjoyed the series
overall. According to the ID tags in the MP3 files, Mystified
is aka Thomas Park. Watch out for these names, mark my words.
Now i need to go get this novel to see how the music pairs
up with it. |
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