by The Necks
Bells, something akin to a zither, intone a dignified, ceremonial entrance to Open, The Necks’ latest masterpiece of musical unfolding/revealing/falling away. A steady piano motif develops, the dull thump of a bass drum, tiny trap skitters, bass clusters appear, dissipate and again. A slow electric pulse develops, the bass kick sporadically asserts itself, toms hit/snap and tumble, the bass now thrums in triplets. A drone passage in the middle that is eastern and raga-like evolves into a Rhodes glide and becomes an industrial plant-like, throbbing wall of sound. And then, endwards, a return to space, we are touching the silence from where we began, a slow piano refrain, a distant cymbal windstorm. The opening instruments return once more, drums flurry and bells, pianos, spasm - the music won’t die without a final assertion.
This 68 minute suite changes so seamlessly and so radically, that the journey is well and truly beyond the capacity of a person to write about and do true justice – it demands a book to tell its story. From 89’s Sex to now’s Open, The Necks 24 year evolution continues...and long may their art remain to challenge, enchant and thrill those prepared to join them.
Perry Holt
‘In the Quiet’
Sundays 10pm – 12am
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