Search - Bruce Gilbert :: Insiding

In"sigh"ding industrial legacy

Dustyn Bork | Monroe, MI United States | 07/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Review by Wilson Neate

Wire guitarist Bruce Gilbert has commented that he's more interested in sounds than in music or songs per se. Consequently, it's not surprising that his experimental endeavors should have garnered interest from artists working in other media who recognize the potential of his recordings as a component of their own creative activities. His first two solo albums, This Way (1984) and The Shivering Man (1987), featured material commissioned for performances by Scottish dancer/choreographer Michael Clark. Insiding consists of two long pieces conceived and written for dance projects by Ashley Page. Gilbert recorded the title track of this album for Page's Savage Water, which was televised in 1989 by England's Channel Four. This sonically diverse, 19-minute composition recalls Gilbert's collaborations with Wire bassist Graham Lewis under the Dome moniker. Like much of that work, this comprises an aural collage of sparse atmospheric passages, looped beats, harsh electronic eruptions, and industrial rumblings. Despite the fragmented arrangement, however, there are moments of cohesion, particularly as the track builds toward its crunching, mechanical climax and the ghost of the paradigmatic Wire rhythm known as "dugga" makes a fleeting appearance. The other track, the 26-minute "Bloodlines," was commissioned by the Royal Ballet for an Page production in 1990. Like "Insiding," it's a heterogeneous piece that incorporates abrasive electronic textures, metallic noise, fleeting ambient punctuation, and rhythmic patterns that occasionally lock into tight, heavy grooves. Nevertheless, "Bloodlines" differs from "Insiding" in its occasional pockets of minimal melody and its more pervasive air of disquiet, which eventually peaks in an austere, hypnotic section enhanced with unsettling vocal loops. Although the two tracks on this release undoubtedly worked best in the context of the dance performances for which they were originally written, they are still convincing as recordings in their own right.



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Gilbert's final installment(s) of commission pieces not to b

Said Head | MN, USA | 05/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I listen to these pieces, which were commissioned for various dance performances both by Ashley Page, I don't think so much of a ballet as I do maybe David Lynch's Industrial Symphony No. 1 (and let's face it, if Gilbert did the music for that it would've been so much better). But it seems a few people in the dance world really understood and respected the amazing abilities of Gilbert.



Bloodlines is a great piece, seemingly toiling away in some inorganic jungle of machinery; yes, I would go so far as to call this true industrial music in the most honest likeness of the term. But what most music given the industrial moniker lacks is seen quite clearly here: a sort of unglamored beauty that manages to shine in casual--not forced--moments. That, to me, is the strongest skill in Gilbert's repertoire.



Insiding, while another very strong effort, just doesn't cut it as far as the formatting for CD goes. It is edited, in chopped excerpts, which really bugs me, because neither do I get to hear all of a potentially awesome piece of music, the segments given feel like just a bunch of instrumentals thrown onto one track instead of anything cohesive. I don't actually know if the original taping of this was made in this fashion, and I welcome a correction by anyone who might know better (because I'm definitely curious). The music is great, has some wonderful moments, I just wish it had a better flow.



Overall, I'd give this CD a 4.5, and only for the fact that I don't care for the editing on Insiding. Otherwise, this is one of my absolute favorites by Bruce Gilbert."