Gabie Strong announces her presence in Spectress as totally a specter, but with
an intentionally female construction. What’s interesting is that the recordings
on Spectress – one from Complex,
Glendale, California, January 26, 2016; the other from Non Plus Ultra, Los
Angeles, January 20, 2016 – don’t point toward any gender at all, and as such
the spirit worlds conjured by Strong’s guitar/synthesizer setups remain
distinctly that: ungendered spirits. But I think the point is probably lost in
the end anyway, the title perhaps merely serving as non-symbolic identifier.
Regardless of whichever way you choose to read it, Spectress is all about disembodied forces coalescing within a
performance and then recorded to tape. Let’s just listen to it.
Over a steady drone, “Sunset Circuit” finds Strong layering
feedback and effects to enhance tension, building ever-so-slowly over sixteen
minutes to an unstable conclusion of humid feedback, which is odd given the
utter lack of humidity in Southern California at any given time. “Taphthartharath”
(that’s a mouthful, and a lot of T’s and H’s!) on side B is where it breaks,
the feedback divebombing you unrelentingly. It’s like a tidal wave of rocks and
nails cascading from a junkyard ocean and obliterating your senses, until you’re
only able to perceive the piercing tones left in its wake. Do be careful when
listening on headphones – check the volume!
https://gabiestrong.bandcamp.com/
https://crystallinemorphologies.bandcamp.com/
--Ryan
Posts
