Search - Main :: Ligature

The sky is loaded

loteq | Regensburg | 07/16/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Ligature" is a remix collection that features re-works from Paul Schutze, Jim O'Rourke, Paul Kendall, and Main themselves. Surprisingly, this disc doesn't display the full experimentation of Main, instead, the songs are more polished and subdued than the original versions. "Ligature" is more akin to traditional ambient music from the likes of Brian Eno; there's much of an emphasis on quietness and ominous environmental sounds throughout the whole disc. "Cypher", however, starts things off in an unexpected territory. The track opens with pulsating, nautical bass lines, then builds up slowly on droning feedback until the crushing guitar bursts in. The rest of this album doesn't add much new to the original versions, and the middle section with "Heat realm", the 13-minute "Suspension", and "Code rays" is too drawn out and tender. The clattering industrial soundscapes of "Reformation" are a bit more fiery; with its metallic percussion and dub rhythm, this track reminds me of Scorn's work, particularly "Zander". All in all, "Ligature" is not very representative of Main's approach, but there are a couple of numbers which make this record worthwhile."