Reviews

http://www.robotfist.com/030122/030122_33.html

"A listening experience that can seem daunting and exhaustive"

by Richard Hurley

22/01/03

TIMBRE HOLLOW

THREN-ODY: (song of) lamentation, especially on a person's death. From the Greek threnoidia (threnos - wailing - and oide or ode).

Having wowed audiences at All Tomorrow's Parties 2002 with their slow, symphonic cadences and improvised chamber music, Threnody Ensemble's Timbre Hollow is here to provide more for your hard earned music pound than most acts will muster in a lifetime. Barry Hogan, the founder of All Tomorrow's Parties, has likened Threnody Ensemble to "the good bits of Radiohead played by a chamber orchestra". If, however, by "the good bits of Radiohead" you mean The Bends, then forget it - Timbre Hollow won't be for you. (Christ, Rich, you listen to some weird shit - Web Ed)

There is little of obvious beauty (no lullaby melodies, no sad slow weepies) contained within Timbre Hollow, making this a listening experience that can seem daunting and exhaustive. For all of the epigrammatic qualities of tracks such as Somewhere Near Denton, however, there are also the slow burning crescendos and sketches of Tha Roman (Formerly Valerie White) Parts I, II and III (well, what did you expect? 'I love you, baby'?, 'Be my buttercup'? Evergreen?). The hauntingly sparse melodicism of these pieces nod as much towards the pictoral rock expressionism of Tortoise and Labradford as the Baroque classicism of Pachelbel and Albinoni.

Like having an emotional state physically mapped out for you, tracks like The Machine and Tension As Opposed To Tension conjure up a feeling of inertia as much as momentum. The guitars of David Cerf and Erik Hoverstein play call and response to the sombre, orchestral backings, whilst clarinets, violins and cellos provide glimpses, flashes and flourishes of melody that serve to be as impressionistic of other musical forms (most notably, on Tha Roman (part III), Penderezcki - composer of the most famous threnody - Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima - 1959-61) as it is expressionistic in its being. It may not have a message. It may not serve a definable purpose - but its very necessity is through its existence. A broad sonic palette that's as perplexing as it is rewarding; as sweet as it is sybilant.

Through its use of sound, colour and texture, Timbre Hollow is an album of sketches and glimpses. It is an album to listen to with the lights turned down - the dim light of a burning cigarette and the aroma of red wine hanging mid air. Timbre Hollow hits the very nerve where classical and modern intersect in a manner that William Orbit can only dream of, and as a result comes highly recommended.

Threnody Ensemble - Timbre Hollow [All Tomorrow's Parties - 2003]

A trio called Threnody Ensemble on Barry HoganÕs All TomorrowÕs Parties label, describing themselves as the best parts of Radiohead played by a chamber orchestra. Does that sound pretentious or what?

Dave Cerf, Erik Hoversten (both from the band A Minor Forest) and cellist Domique Davison are the members that form the Threnody Ensemble. This album, called Timbre Hollow, was already released by the New Albion label in the US, but after an invitation by Steve Albini to play at the alternative music festival All TomorrowÕs Parties, Barry Hogan insisted on releasing it in Europe.

The instrumental line-up consists of two acoustic guitars and a cello, and thus the comparison with post-rock is easily made. Even more when session musicians are brought in with piano, percussion, clarinet and violin. This is getting scary. Are you sure weÕre not talking about Godspeed You! Black Emperor? No, we donÕt. This is different. First of all, there are acoustic guitars, which makes this a more depleted version of GY!BE. Secondly, the compositions are on another level. The band does not choose to work towards musical climaxes, but rather stays silent with a few bombastic pieces here and there.

Timbre Hollow has certainly its influences taken from the crowded post-rock genre, but not all of it, and thatÕs a good thing Ð looking for some originality. The six tracks on this album are, composition and musical wise, build with (neo)classical music in the back of the membersÕ heads. That becomes clear when pompous and majestic parts sometimes take over the minimal droning acoustic guitar and cello sounds. The 23 minute long ThaRoman, divided into three parts is a good example of this, but the original three classical instruments line-up keeps dominating the picture, resulting in an experimental but above all quiet sound collage. The three other tracks - called Somewhere Near Denton, The Machine and Tension As Opposed To Tension Ð continue on the same foot.

With references such as GY!BE, Pink Floyd and Porcupine Three, the Threnody Ensemble has certainly not done anything wrong. But the sparse & slow music contains not enough interesting elements to tag this album as ÒgoodÓ. IÕd rather say ÒaverageÓ. ItÕs worth a listen, yes, but would better be used as some sort of soundtrack to one movie or another. Pretentious indeed. Very nice artwork by the way.

- Justin Faase

...One quick wander to chalet and back, and it was time for Threnody Ensemble. They played intricate, pretty, textural drone-classical music with eccentric bits of found percussion and tape loops and guitar riffs and suchlike. Perfect for losing oneself in. I found a lot of parallels between their music and that of the Second Viennese School composers Schoenberg and Webern: the same regard for texture and surprising juxtapositioning of different elements...

Threnody Ensemble, Timbre Hollow

(All Tomorrow's Parties Recordings)

David Peschek

Friday January 3, 2003

The Guardian

In the overcrowded post-rock marketplace, large numbers of musicians swill around in the wake of inadvertent scene catalysts Slint and Rodan, making music for love and little reward, which makes criticism seem mean-spirited and post-rock an austere business.

In their native US, Threnody Ensemble share a label with John Cage and Terry Riley, which highlights their neo/contemporary-classical ambitions; here they are the debut release on a new label launched by Barry Hogan, the promoter of the innovative festival All Tomorrow's Parties. ATP has done much to illustrate the diversity of music outside the rock mainstream. Timbre Hollow, however, is a frustratingly average record: not actually bad, not without moments of charm, just almost entirely without surprise. In its favour, it does generate an organic warmth, and the artful plucking of guitars and humming of cellos is rarely unpleasant. After a while, though, there is the mild nausea of being part way through an enormous bowl of bran.

Threnody Ensemble

"Timbre Hollow" (All Tomorrows Parties Recordings)

To Post-Rock or not to Post-Rock? That is the question...

There are times when the apocalyptically grandiose explosions of the likes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai are just what the soul needs, but if the dark clouds are not gathering above you, then the last thing you need is a prolonged attack of gothic histrionics. Some would argue that it is a subversive statement and far more "punk rock" than nay of the noisy pretenders living for an outmoded ideal, that has long since been raped of its integrity. Others would say that it's a bloated corpse, simply carrying on where the seventies pomp-rock monsters left it, puking and bleeding in the gutter of excess.

Whatever your view there are many exponents of this craft and here we have another, bending its flabby rules and giving it an altogether more classical twist. Threnody Ensemble sound like a kind of unplugged version of GY!BE and make a sound that verges on classical, but never quite tips over the edge to the hateful world of toffee-nosed snobbery and for that we all must be grateful. The "songs" strum, float and at times soar, with acoustic guitars rhythmically battling with stabbing flourishes of strings and flailing wind instruments. There are six tracks in total, with the final one lasting for well over 14 minutes and at times it all sounds like Pink Floyd limbering up for another epoch defining stab at Comfortably Numb, but there are charms aplenty if patience is one of your many virtues.

At times and occasionally simultaneously creepy, bewitching, pompous, pretentious and rather beautiful, there must be a film out there somewhere that Timbre Hollow would soundtrack perfectly.

6/10

Reviewed By Mark Mason

January 15th,2000

Threnody Ensemble: Timbre Hollow

Threnody Ensemble

Timbre Hollow

All Tomorrow’s Parties Recordings, £13.99

IN THEIR own way no less precious than Porcupine Tree, avant-classical/post-rock outfit Threnody Ensemble at least inject some levity into their album of sombre string-soaked mood pieces. There is a perky Latin passage in the second "movement" of Tha Roman (formerly Valerie White) - hey, catchy - and even a touch of early music in the third suite, or however they like to refer to their instrumental compositions.

Threnody Ensemble is actually two US musicians, Dave Cerf and Erik Hoversten, plus whoever they choose to collaborate with from project to project. On Timbre Hollow they have drafted in cellists Dominique Davison and Amy Domingues. There is an audience of chin-stroking,new music fans out there who go wild for this stuff, but anyone who likes a bit of plaintive cello would find this a soothing listen.

FIONA SHEPHERD

Friday, 10th January 2003

The Scotsman

http://www.de-bug.de/review/17337.htm

That the Threnody Ensemble do not have beards is a cause of much confusion for this writer. A three-piece classical group made up of math-rockers in their late twenties? Oh come on, they must have beards, even the girl who plays cello. Didn't the cellist in Built to Spill have a beard? Well?

See, this is precisely the type of band we'd expect from All Tomorrows Parties, a company whose distaste for accessibility is rivalled only by their disregard for the use of possessive apostrophes. For God's sake, the band's put the musical scores up on their website. 'Timbre Hollow' is an instrumental affair, and boy do we mean instrumental. The Ensemble is made up primarily of two acoustic guitars and a cello, with bits of clarinet floating around for good measure, and the music takes the form of quiet, experimental, au naturelle soundtrack nothingness.

'Timbre Hollow' is nice to listen to as BGM - very nice - but there's nowt to hold the attention. The songs feel like sketches, a few friends noodling in the lounge after a bottle of red. Even their name stands as a warning, a call to beret and cardie-wearing musos everywhere; if you can't pronounce words like Threnody in three goes, you probably won't find much interest in their music. If 'Timbre Hollow' was incidental music for a black and white arthouse film it would work beautifully. But put this on as you're getting dressed for a Saturday night vomiting on the tiles and you'll have a pretty damn miserable evening.

Daniel Robson

reviewed on 14.jan.03

Threnody Ensemble "Tha Roman (Formerly Valerie White) Part II"

All-acoustic and vocal-less, guitar/piano/cello extravaganza. Sorta like the more 'early music' tracks from Magnetic Fields '69 Love Songs', but heading away into Rachel's territory. The only track on this CD that might make me buy an album.

Threnody Ensemble - Timbre Hollow

Label: New Albion Records - Released: 2000

Contributed by: kelsey

CRITIC'S RATING 4/5

This is neo-classical music at its finest, although the band would certainly shy away from that label. The three main musicians (Dave Cerf and Erik Hoversten on guitars and Dominique Davidson on cello) blend Western and Eastern music, which results in a soundscape that the old masters would admire. Up to seven guest musicians add their own touches to form what can be called modern chamber music. Faint shadows of Indonesian, Cuban, and Indian rhythms are prevalent throughout the album, even though every instrument heard is a Western-style stringed instrument.
Like Dead Can Dance, this ensemble seems to be driven more by a near-religious need to play its music. Like Godspeed You Black Emperor, it focuses on sounds as a trigger to inner reflection and awakening. Threnody Ensemble may not be as intense as either of those bands but it gets its point across through combining the aesthetic and the conceptual. There is nothing shocking, harsh, loud, outspoken, or otherwise brash on this album. You might even fall asleep listening, but if you do, you certainly will dream well.

MEMBER REVIEWS

I liked it. I won't purchase it. But I liked it. It's not too original, it has been done. I originally put it at a 2, but then I thought. You are just looking for the next Sunny Day, not everyone will come close to their magic. And that's true. So I changed it to 3. I find I compare too much indie music to Sunny Day. If you have some extra money. Buy it. If not, borrow it from a friend.
-- sdre_atdi_rock posted on Oct. 15, 2002

i have never heard of these guys. but i noticed you compared them to god's pee. this seems like something i would like.
-- perfectpitch posted on Sep. 16, 2002

Riff Raff

Everything Quieter Than Everything Else; Studio Time

BY MARK ATHITAKIS

Everything Quieter Than Everything Else

Like a lot of so-called "new music" records in the marketplace these days, the packaging of the Threnody Ensemble's first album, Timbre Hollow, is a subdued and tasteful affair. The front cover is the color of parchment, with a gracefully scrawled music chart. The photos inside are artsy, blurred images of the musicians involved -- cellist Dominique Davison and guitarists Erik Hoversten and Dave Cerf. The back cover is a personnel listing as straightforward as any classical record. Except that Davison's, Hoversten's, and Cerf's names are typed in the same font that British metal icon Iron Maiden uses on its records.

"Dave was sort of despairing of the fact that [the record packaging] looked so solidly hoity-toity," explains Hoversten. "We wanted to somehow make some concession to the fact that we don't take ourselves that seriously. It's so subtle that somebody who isn't from a rock background isn't going to notice it." Hoversten himself comes from a rock background -- for six years, he toiled in the brilliant and often metal-stoked San Francisco band A Minor Forest, which across three albums was an object lesson in how being loud needn't mean being clichéd, and how talent doesn't necessarily mean being self-indulgently arty. With that band's breakup in late 1998, Hoversten's had more time to concentrate on the Threnody Ensemble, which is an entirely different affair -- mainly acoustic and stemming from a composer's sensibility, the music bridges the gap between the classical tradition and the legacy of oblique indie "math rock" groups like Slint, Rodan, and A Minor Forest itself.

Hoversten's shift into composition and relative quietude isn't unique amongst the quote-unquote math rock community. Members of that scene's Chicago hub convened in 1998 as Pullman, making a beautiful (if unfortunately ignored) acoustic song cycle, Turnstyles and Junkpiles, while groups like Don Caballero, the For Carnation, and June of 44 have slowly eased either into more contemplative styles or begun to see the merits of making electronic music. "For myself, it's just a natural progression," says Hoversten. "I felt like there was a threshold to the complexity that can be achieved in a rock band context. You're competing with this incredible volume. ... People have been trying to make music that's more ambitious and complex, but not for the sake of being complex. It just makes sense that people would start switching into formats where that's more easily achieved."

There's nothing daunting about the music on Timbre Hollow. In fact, it's one of the most remarkably giving, accessible, and simply beautiful records to come from these parts in some time. Neither rigidly chamber pop nor wildly experimental, its spare, slow, organic sound is utterly entrancing. The three-part "ThaRoman" revolves around an airy gamelan hook, while "Somewhere Near Denton" and "The Machine" use electronic treatments to add a haunting, distant feel to the songs. The result is surprisingly cohesive, considering that the record was made over three years, on three separate trips to North Carolina. And more surprising still, since the composing process was often built around hours of improvisations that would be taped, relearned, layered, and eventually scored.

But, that job finished, Hoversten's main concern these days is whether the record will get heard -- and where in the record store one files a post-math rock post-minimalist chamber-trio song cycle anyway -- though the group's label, San Francisco-based New Albion Records, has some expertise in figuring out how to get new-school icons like Elliot Carter, Anthony Braxton, Terry Riley, and Karlheinz Stockhausen into the hands of the right people. "Not all, but a good percentage of the indie rock kids would find it interesting," says Hoversten. "Whether they know the record exists is another matter." Timbre Hollow will be officially released July 25, but is available for order at www.newalbion.com; a record release party will be held at Noe Valley Ministry Aug. 19. Sound samples, downloadable scores, and other information is available at www.threnodyensemble.com.

Volume 45 Issue 1 - August 23, 2000 - CSU, Chico

33.3 jazzes up the downtown scene

Ben Kelly - Entertainment Editor

With rock bands packing the house at most local venues, Friday night's orchestrated jazz show at the Blue Room was more than just a bit refreshing. It was completely rejuvenating.

The show featured two groups with some members playing in both groups. Threnody Ensemble and 33.3 were the two outfits that played, both coming out of the Bay Area and both featuring ex-members of A Minor Forest, which established a good following in San Francisco a few years back.

Only a crowd of 25 or so lucky Chicoans made it out that night to experience this symphonic event. Threnody Ensemble was up first and consisted of Erik Hoversten and Dave Cerf on guitar and Dominique Davison on cello. Both guitars were acoustic with only a little amplification. This was real music. The members of Threnody Ensemble didn't play songs. They performed improvisational, classical pieces with movements, overtures, buildups, climaxes and free-flowing, symphonic note plucking. Acoustic music is thought to be limited, but Threnody Ensemble found experimental and innovative methods to break through those barriers. Hoversten began the first piece by using the excess of his guitar strings to slap the main strings and creep up the frets of his guitar.

From there, Threnody Ensemble jammed through countless movements and moods. The bass undertones of the cello bellowed like a foghorn while the guitarists played off each other, exchanging notes back and forth. The music seemed to put the crowd into a glossy-eyed trance, and Threnody Ensemble would occasionally surface a jazzy, upbeat jam that shook the crowd out of its state of hypnosis. The music had no discernable pattern other than the repetitious finger plucking of the guitarists that changed with the movements. It was a modernized throw back to another era in music when rock 'n' roll didn't dominate. Recognizing the fact that most listeners were used to short and sweet rock songs, Davison gave out a warning before starting the second overture. "Hi, we're Threnody Ensemble and we're going to play another piece for you," Davison said. "It's in several movements so get comfortable."

At times the music these three string players produced seemed to be inspired by Elizabethan Europe while at other times it could have belonged in the Far East. At the same time it could have been mistaken for early Pink Floyd during Floyd's "epic" years. The members of Threnody Ensemble had an air of mellow refinement. They had no concern for pop culture but rather with the integrity and the musically aesthetic nature of their free-flowing strings. For the second piece, Threnody Ensemble's guitarists put down their strings and each sat in front of a xylophone. They proceeded to compliment each other in the same way that their guitars did. The xylophones were something truly stimulating. The patterns that came from the steel bars seemed to once again put their listeners into a trance-like gaze. The notes filled the room with the sounds of both raindrops falling into puddles and wind chimes blowing in a breeze.

The members of Threnody Ensemble didn't wear leather pants and didn't have dyed hair, but that wasn't the point. Any sort of flashy get-up or lighting effects would have taken away from the truth and integrity of their music.

33.3 took the floor next. This group of five free-spirited musicians had an honest passion for their musical expression much like the members of Threnody Ensemble.

33.3's sound could be easily classified as jazz, but its roots and influences ran deeper than that. It had the same fluidity of Threnody Ensemble but the members were less concentrated on the string instruments and more on the percussion and horn elements. True, at times the groovy jam was strictly jazz that flowed through the Blue Room like background music in a smoky, classy beatnik bar. However, even though the jazzy songs were pleasant to the ears, the more rockin' stuff was what set the crowd into a head bobbin' mesh of appreciation. The drummer of 33.3 was responsible for keeping everyone on time and in tune with the music. He played jazzy songs with rimshots and ride cymbal tapping as opposed to the typical bass and snare format of rock music. He also created a series of tribal beats through creative bass kicks and tom-tom rolls. Just when the jazz sound of 33.3 was starting to get to be too much, the drummer found ways to keep the set alive and fresh. He literally went off and started seriously jamming like any of our own local jam band drummers. It was the combination of his rockin' jam sessions and his jazzier, unpredictable routines that made his skill evident.

Even though neither Threnody Ensemble nor 33.3 used vocals, no voices were necessary. The combination of the musicians' utter passion for their respective instruments was enough emotion to write an entire year's worth of Hallmark cards.

It's too bad that when original and talented musicians find their way to the Blue Room, they don't receive the audience they deserve. But those that were in attendance that night now know one thing. The next time Threnody Ensemble and 33.3 play in our practically rock-exclusive town, that's going to be the place to be.

Threnody Ensemble - Timbre Hollow

(New Albion)

Threnody Ensemble's Timbre Hollow and 33.3's Play Music share a common musician and roughly common instrumentation but accomplish very different goals. Indie rock cellist Dominique Davison, best known for helping out on the A Minor Forest records, is the common link between the two bands, both bands' sound consisting of rock guitarists mixed with classical strings like cello, double bass, and violin. In Threnody Ensemble, Davison is joined by her friends from A Minor Forest, teaming with guitarists Dave Cerf and Erik Hoversten. In 33.3, Davison and her Yale cohorts, Brian Alfred and Steven Walls, form the band.

Threnody Ensemble is a multi-genre chamber orchestra. When the three person band is joined by other instruments to round out the orchestra, their sound is much more adventurous, like in the three part, 33 minute "ThaRoman (formerly Valerie White)." The band jumps from lulling string tones to straight classical to Latin jazz and back to straight classical with ease, not missing any chance for an off-the-cuff experiment in musical style. However, when the three core musicians are by themselves (which I believe represent the older recordings on this release, the release spanning 3 years of sessions), there is less genre-jumping, giving the compositions more flow and continuity. Here, the musicians, with years of experience playing together, can play off each other and create music that lives and breathes. "The Machine" consists of guitar interplay against a backdrop of cello tones. There is a sort of symbiosis between Cerf and Hoversten on this song; when one guitarist starts a spritely traditional country/folk section, the second guitarist adapts, picking up the pace, keeping the song alive and flowing, and when one guitarist slows down the pace, the second guitarist reacts almost in unison. "Tension as Opposed to Tension" is equally as organic and much more dramatic. Here, the composition is allowed to build and decay, growing towards several climaxes only to be cutoff each time, drifting away to quieter sections.

33.3 is more of a light jazz and pop band, still very orchestrated but more upbeat and less epic and grandiose. Plays Music is the band's second release, and since their debut the band has added two new musicians, William Noland on double bass and Joseph Grimm on trumpet and trumbone. These additions do much for the band's sound, transforming them from somewhat ordinary stripped-down chamber pop to a richer jazz feel. 33.3 lets Davison's cello seep through and even take the lead, something not heard much in Threnody Ensemble. "An Open Letter to Buckminster Fuller" starts off using Alfred's electric guitar prominently with Davison's cello backing. As the light, rolling drums come in and Grimm's trumpet adds a two note repetition, Davison's cello shimmers, taking over the central melody. Each member of the band is of equal importance here though; it is outstanding how quickly the band has adapted to adding bass and brass to their arrangements. Grimm's presence really takes the band to the next level from averagely good band to very good band. The band wastes no time introducing him and Noland, as "Power Failure at the U.N.," the album's outstanding first track, features smooth trumpet playing lead in the first section and a bass and blaring trumpet duet in the second. In "Oval Cast as Circle," the three lead instruments, cello, guitar, and trumpet, merge beautifully, starting off with a pairing of guitar and cello but letting the trumpet blend in, kick the guitar out, let the guitar step back in, etc., switching lead instruments several times but still keeping up with the drummer's steady, quick pace.

Threnody Ensemble and 33.3 are closely related but create very different music. The foundation of Threnody Ensemble is classical music. Their compositions have lengthy duration and are more concerned with building tension and mood than being pleasing to the ears. 33.3 is the opposite; their sounds are made to be aurally pleasing with little effort towards building tension, sounding more like a jazz-influenced pop band. The two albums are very good but in very different ways.