THE ART OF NOISE ‘In No Sense? Nonsense!’
(China Records WOL4/CD)
☆☆
THE SOUND of telephones ringing down distant corridors, doors slamming, footsteps on cold marble floors. Yes, there’s music in them thar heels!
The Art Of Noise reckon on it because they take the clamour of ordinary comings and goings, then tweak and twiddle them beyond all sensible use and come up with something even more ordinary.
But here truly is 42 minutes with a little for everyone in it and it’s not often you can say that these days. Low flying aircraft for a start. Some distorted laughter, the theme from Dragnet, huddled and half-heard conversations and the Ely Cathedral Choir they’re all here.
And in between, slices of music too. Well, it’s more doodling really, sometimes with a full orchestra, more often just light synthetic rhythm tracks with disembodied voices repeating key words or phrases over and over.
’In No Sense? Nonsense!’ should not be allowed to slip carelessly into the hands of agoraphobics as it could set ‘em back a couple of years. The rest of us should just walk on by, happy in the knowledge that as we do, our boots are making an artistic statement.
PETER KANE