Thursday, April 14, 2011

Review: Lee Noble - Our Star, the Sun (Moon Glyph, 2010)


Los Angeles based multi-instrumentalist Lee Noble built his signature sound around vintage, dusted analog drones. But unlike many lo-fi electronic artist of this time, he doesn’t limit himself to synthesizer only. Lee is a multi-instrumentalist adding a folk-like sensibility to the all-machine music. To my mind, Our Star, the Sun is one of the best Lee Noble release, if not the best. Side A begins with “The Powers of Ten” which is quite possibly the best track Noble has ever created. A 11-minute epic synth journey through cold nebulas billions of kilometers from home, this track is immensely melancholic and beautiful tale of an estranged astronaut who knows he will never get a chance to go back home.
The mood of melancholy and sadness is a staple of many of Noble’s releases, and on Our Star, the Sun it is more pronounced than ever. The tracks are lo-fi, truly bedroom-based miniature ballads of pain and redemption sprinkled with modest synth ornaments, the standout one being “794-9065”, where the rudimentary ambience sets mood for barely audible acoustic guitar and silent moans and “Life Under a Double Sun”, where an acoustic folk ballad buried beneath electronic pulses creates a beautiful unity, like a strange space age singer-songwriter.
Lee Noble created a completely new and idiosyncratic sound combining retro futurism with a simple song format, deeply emotional, experimental, personal and introverted. Our Star, the Sun and Noble’s work in general will appeal both to hardcore drone-heads and fans of singers-songwriters. Watch this guy, he will surprise us many times in the future.

1 comment:

alberto said...

these are some exciting new sounds, thanks for noticing and sharing them!