Ian C. Bouras - Absence (live looping)
Absence (live looping), the latest
release from New York City based guitarist and songwriter Ian Bouras,
demonstrates a potentially neglected side of his skill set – his talent as an
engineer and producer. Bouras has an understanding of sound quite unlike many
other musicians of his generation and it finds unique reflection in his highly
atmospheric and melodically substantive compositions. It is obvious that Bouras
put a great deal of thought into the individual tracks and overall running
order, but it isn’t the sort of attention that inevitably robs the songs of
their spontaneous spirit; instead, it gives these performances a surprising
level of intimacy. Absence (live looping) is the next fourteen song chapter in
a career that, since first beginning in the early years of the century, has
consistently maintained an enormous capacity for satisfying surprises. Ian
Bouras’ latest solo album is his best yet and sets the table for his run at
future albums.
“While You Were Gone” lays down one of
the album’s key templates with absolutely no discernible fat on the
performance. Instrumental music, sometimes, has a tendency to meander when
placed within a popular music context, but Bouras’ compositional approach makes
no such distinctions. This opener and the next two songs “Trappings of
Oblivion” and “The Cruelty of Dreams” live and die with this take on Bouras’
musical vision and provide evidence of his ability to sharpen and elaborate on
those elements. “Silent Life” is one of the album’s braver numbers in terms of
manifesting an unique feel removed from typical considerations of melody and
structure. The guitar effects that are a hallmark of his work on the album are
definitely capable of creating distance for listeners unfamiliar with the
style, but Bouras always leaves varying degrees of melody throughout the
collection. “Words Never Whispered” is the album’s longest track by quite a bit
and the extended running time doesn’t challenge Bouras’ ability to hold the
audience’s attention. If anything, it gives him a chance to stretch out and
strengthen this relatively epic number with even greater musical substance and
tangible atmospherics.
“Fear of Sleep” has a strong structure
and a growing sense of dread conjured through the playing that Bouras never
cheapens. The deft touch he uses in bringing about such a mood is a signature quality
of the release on a whole, but finds its greatest expression with this number.
“Haunted by the Memory of You” continues a theme of the songs addressing lost
love of some variety and the hazy romanticism of the playing and melodic ideas
certainly suggest vulnerability and often exquisite sensitivity. “Touch the
Heart (Ocean Blue)” manages to balance delicacy with a welcome degree of
forcefulness and the album’s final song “Until We Meet Again” closes Absence on
an expected elegiac note with just enough ambient grace to tie it with some of
the album’s other experiments with sound. This is a substantive and unusual
musical release from a musician whose career clearly indicates he’s capable of
playing any style that captivates him. Absence (live looping) is another
involving release from a fantastic creative force in the indie music world.
Scott Wigley
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