The fourth record for this Portland artist, and the first on Mark Kozelek's boutique label Caldo Verde, "The Absent and the Distant" is a rich and diverse collection of songs, ranging from the opening instrumental piece ("Song for a Sinking Ship") to gentle yet spooky laments, played out on piano, guitar and other spaced-out electronics. It is this constant exploration of sound that makes this album so likable. Not merely limited herself to voice and piano and guitar, Repp, with comrades Adam Selzer (of Norfolk and Western), Joe Haege (of 31Knots), and a cast of other friends create a monumental sound, fit for a symphony hall, but condensed to songs about one person's times and troubles.
Take the sixth track, "I'll Walk You Out", for example. A solemn thump of an 808 kick and reverbed out drum machines create a slowed down march, with a mellotron and piano floating above, or perhaps sinking below. From out of it all rises Repp's voice, as seductive as anything Beth Gibbons did in Portishead, and certainly leaps above many of her current peers.
Another brutally interesting piece of work is "Anyone's It". Like a Gaelic tune set to a sine wave for music, the piece drifts in and out like a smashed ship in a mostly frozen sea. Behind her almost spoken intonations, harmonies swirl about like souls of the drowned and forgotten sailors.
I have really only been familiar with Repp's songs on compilations, figuring that she would prove to be another singer-songwriter with a guitar or piano. What I hadn't counted on was her ability to create amazing music, strange and tense compositions much like the moody work of Shannon Wright. Moody is pretty much the operative word here, don't expect any really uplifting numbers here, unless the sadness and melancholy here cheers you up somehow.
- Grant Capes | 2006-10-02
