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Stars of the Lid is one of those bands that
people either really like or think are too
weird. Their music started off as strange
drones on the guitar (like Sunn O))) but not
as oppressively heavy), and slowly
transmorphed into something that walks the
border of classical music.
Will philharmonic orchestras in a hundred
years perform ...And Their Refinement
of the Decline live in concert
halls? I admit that might be interesting to
see, and the thought of all those people in
tuxedos performing a song called December
Hunting for Vegetarian Fuckface fills me
with delight, giggling at the dichotomy of the
seriousness this music normally projects and
the flippant names SotL gave their songs.
I say all of that here because Adam Wiltzie
is one half of SotL. In fact, he is the
surviving half -- other member Brian McBride
passed away in August of 2023. So it's been a
busy year in SotL fandom. After reeling from
McBride's death, we have a new album from
Wiltize, a solo work as opposed to his
pongoing work with A
Winged Victory For the Sullen.
The record starts with dark noodling of
synths and guitar, but strings some in slowly.
The drone is really nice here on Buried At
Westwood Memorial Park, In An Unmarked
Grave, To The Left Of Walter Matthau.
The way that the song kind of flattens in the
middle with an organ drone reminds me of Stem
by DJ Shadow, the music just kind of parting
for a minute into a vast space, before the
sounds come crashing back in. This song is
eight and a half minutes long, so it has a lot
of room to grow.
Wiltzie takes things back to the beginning on
Tissue Of Lies as he strums the guitar,
slowly, each note reverberating into a synth
and string done. Very lovely, and it flows
into Pelagic Swells, which is all
sawing strings, like an orchestra waking up.
Stock Horror builds into a massive
drone, the bass rumbling so low underneath
that you feel it in your sternum more than
your ears, as the guitar wavers. The overall
effect is eerie, and unsettling, as befits a
song that references the horror genre in its
title.
The tune is childlike and fun,. It's called Dim
Hopes and has a tinkling keyboard
bouncing along happily. Wiltzie adds in some
strings for As Above Perhaps So Below,
and this one reminds me of a nature
documentary, the strings droning as the camera
pans over vast wildlife shots.
The done pauses, and then rebuilds with a
sort of air flowing sound, like bellows pumped
This song bears the appropriately gassy name Mexican
Helium. The gaseous theme continues with
We Were Vaporised, with deep sawing
strings and rumbling bass.
The final track is called (Don't Go Back
To) Boogerville, a short flurry of
strings, loud and in front. The name is
childish, but Wiltzie's final act of humor is
that this is the ninth and last track on an
album whose title promised eleven tracks!
And I find the record has ended too soon. I
always want to hear more when it is over, and
that, to me, is a sign of a good record.
Wiltzie continues to impress.
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