|
"Elettricita"
cd (SC91, Secretly Canadian 2004) |
|
"Lungs
for the Race" cd (SC22, Secretly Canadian 2001) |
Ryan
Murphy, alma detrás de HAVERGAL, no es un tipo cualquiera,
ni siquiera un arquitecto cualquiera. Este tejano comanda
los designios de la indie Western Vinyl, en cuyas filas encontramos
grupos tan espléndidos como EARLY
DAY MINERS.
HAVERGAL,
como grupo, se centra en una caja de ritmos minimal, y unas
guitarras calmas y melancólicas. El discurrir a lo
Lou Reed, y la ironía de las letras, le confieren un
aire de romántico desapego...
Un álbum
espléndido que puede remitir tanto a Hood como a Arab
Strap, o nuestros catalanes Balago. Se demuestra que, al margen
de olfato, Murphy tiene, de veras, mucho talento.
Havergal
no ha realizado muchas grabaciones desde su debut. En el 2001
Havergal se marcha a la Costa Oeste en la que pasa tres años.
Luego ha pasado a Texas, donde ahora vive y ha acabado su
nuevo trabajo, "Elettricita", que no es ni un disco
de corte tejano, ni tampoco californiano, más bien
algo a medio camino, entre Arizona y Nuevo Méjico con
la mirada hacia adelante. Quizás sea un disco de ruptura
con California, una aceptación y comprensión
de un pasado y una anticipación al futuro. Hay un espíritu
errante en el disco, un sentido real de destino manifiesto.
Desde la
caída del nuevo milenio, Havergal ha caminado por el
desierto y ahora está de vuelta con "Elettricita"
en sus brazos, entre nosotros y el sol. Encontramos que ha
crecido enormemente como vocalista, compositor y escritor.
Cuanto más melancólico tonalmente , en "Eletticita"
hallamos un nuevo sentido de la madurez. Su voz está
siempre ahí, siempre encuentra la melodía, no
no importa cómo de paciente o pequeña sea.
The mark of minimalist composers Erik Satie, Steve Reich
and Terry Riley have all been left on Havergal and can be
traced throughout the new album. The strength of the single
note (versus the fat meaty chord) is something that Havergal
has always embraced. And with unlimited tracking, the cactus
needled single notes of Lungs for the Race have blossomed
a bit on Elettricita, retaining that fragile sound while finding
strength in numbers - an army of individual notes so deep
in number that the land they traverse becomes unrecognizable
in their wake. The music meanders as the hypnotic rhythms
build upon one another and change into slow beach breaks.
In the studio, Havergal does not set out to record an event
that occurs in a moment in time, but rather to create a sound
collage that can only be created in his home studio. The title
of the album, Elettricita, is taken from Italian futurist
painter Giacomo Balla, whose embracing of artificial light
in his work became a symbol of modernity. He was so obsessed
with the future that he named his daughter Elettricita (meaning
"electricity" in Italian). Havergal's commitment
to make a modern music that is beyond his personal abilities
- relying on technology to multi-track very simple parts forty
times over. Yet the music still retains a very humanistic
quality, conveying moods of the most complicated sort. Yes,
this highly processed music has a subtle pastoral quality
to it that allows it to transcend the glitch pop soup of the
day. Movietone, Califone, early Tangerine Dream and Eno's
Another Green World are interesting touchstones for one looking
for kindred spirits.
And thank goodness for the healthy portions of piano served
up on this new record. With the sublime guitar and piano interplay
on songs such as album opener "Drowned Men", "The
Fallen Hopeless Hope" and "Burn Up the Bay",
the bliss-out potential for the listener remains quite high.
The tunes have a timeless quality to them, immersed in an
ancient static while pulsing with a futuristic beat. And through
it all is the voice of a cowboy of the most contemporary sort.
Recurring themes on Elettricita include accepting certain
things (age, lovelife, insecurities) and about not accepting
other things (greed, stagnation, self indulgence, disregard).
It's past sundown. Pull your car over to the highway's shoulder,
or take a comfortable seat on your favorite side of the couch.
Crack open a pint of your favorite ice cream and immerse yourself
in Havergal's Elettricita. Prepare for the passersby to scratch
their heads and covet your position as the glow from your
car or transom window betrays your place in eternity - if
only for a little under an hour.
