High Wolf
Kairos: Chronos
Reviewed by Stephen Krock
You know that episode of Friends where Ross unleashes “The Sound” on the group for the first time? It’s revealed that he spent hours in his parents’ basement secretly creating “The Sound.” A truly emotional and personal musical journey. Then, when the gang finally hears it, it’s just a bunch of dicking around with sound effects on a keyboard. No one seems to appreciate it, save for wacky Phoebe, who kind of sucks at music in her own right. To say High Wolf’s Kairos: Chronos sucks wouldn’t be entirely true, but it would take someone who owns a skirt made of wheat to appreciate it.
Multi-layered synths, fuzz-guitar and tribal percussions amassed into a collection of enigmatic soundscapes. It is certainly full of interesting textures and evokes the senses, but for the most part too many cooks spoil this broth. Mostly, none of the tracks build to anything, as we’re immediately assaulted with a wall of rhythmic sound from the start. It’s always entrancing for the first thirty seconds or so, but length of these songs range from five to 13 minutes. 13 minutes!!! The track in question here, “Alvarado,” actually does shift tones halfway through, and for the better. But by the time we get there, we don’t care anymore.
One thing I will say is the images these soundscapes draw out are vast. Most artists of this make convey a specific feeling and image. Kairos: Chronos unhinged my mind, if only because the monotony would have driven me mad otherwise. However, it was amazing the bizarre spectacles these tracks cooked up in my head. At the end of the day, though, I have heard much better.
Rating: No comment
