Process orientation vs. defining statements

We have been scrolling the internet a bit in search for old reviews of those newly found releases and came across a nice one for the (VxPxC) release from 2008. It points out that a “release a month” is actually an interesting way of experiencing how a band evolves over time as opposed to waiting for e.g. a “defining” annual release. Read the low down below and order “Baked Potatoes” over here.

“With a discography comprising more than twenty titles in less than four years and a total of 30+ CDs of recorded material, that they, according to their MySpace-page, plan to gradually release, the Californian trio (VxPxC) offers a good example of a new production ethos that many projects working with hybrid forms of noise, improv, drone and folk have adopted in recent years. Rather than directing their efforts towards albums released in larger intervals of time and thus functioning as a definite statement, they opt for a more process-oriented approach. The production job is reduced to a minimum and material is issued more regularly, documenting the best moments from recording sessions and concerts on limited-run cassettes or CD-Rs. “Baked Potatoes”, released in an edition of 77 copies by the Dutch label Dim Records, does exactly that – it presents a collection of tracks, excerpted from longer improvisations without any obvious post-production apart from the selection.

If you’ve heard (VxPxC) before there are no surprises to be expected from that CD-R, but then again, wouldn’t it be disappointing if there were? After all, the trio has developed what might be called a trademark sound, based on guitars – electric and acoustic, picked and bowed – and other string instruments such as banjo, completed with some drumbox-rhythms (often sounding like warped Casio-presets), keyboards, harmonica, recorder and occasional odd singing. The music mostly moves at a soothingly slow pace, large passages of it structured by a regularly shifting pulse that is usually provided by repetitive melodic patterns and sometimes, as in “Under The Bridge, Again”, by additional percussive elements. Folk is the obvious point of reference here, especially when it comes to the harmonica playing, but then seen through a considerably distorting psychedelic filter and blended with a minimal drone aesthetic – one of the finest examples for this is the final, eleven-and-a-half-minute track “June Bugs in July”. The previous track, “Dead Eyes” is considerably shorter but stands out as another highlight with its deliberately cheap and cheesy, semi-orchestral string sounds and muffled vocals.

The pieces on “Baked Potatoes” often contain seemingly haphazard elements and drift around for a while before taking shape and hitting the swinging groove, that is the motor of (VxPxC)’s music. This might call for a more rigorous production, but then again it evokes the atmosphere of casual improvisation sessions, and, in the end, it’s this casualness that makes any possible worries about a lack of quality control superfluous.” (Magnus Schaefer at Earlabs)

"Baked Potatoes" by (VxPxC)