15 DEGREES BELOW ZERO – Resting On A

Edgetone

Daniel Blomquist, Michael Addison Mersereau and Mark Wilson exercise an array of machines that includes analogue instruments – guitar and pedals, too – and digital expansions of those generators through laptop, samplers and a multitude of processing devices. Resting On A, third full-length CD of the trio, seems to have been conceived with two separate souls: the first three tracks – which comprise a 24’ 37” sinister reverie named “2.5” – are oriented towards the exploration of darkish abstractions, absorbing sound worlds where acoustic nebulousness hides both quiet menace and aural solace. Hints to Lustmord, drones lacking hackneyed inflections, inherent movements within an only apparent composure distancing the sonic essence from inconsequential immobility. The second half tends instead to the embodiment of mirages via an increased utilization of tangible secretions and more delineated structures, taped voices even appearing at the start of a track. Those scents might partially justify the press blurb’s labelling of the group as “electronic industrial”, an otherwise rather disorienting classification. Overall, a good enough album that works OK at medium-to-subliminal volume. Still, distracted ears won’t catch the subtle nuances; this is not a one-off, it needs several stabs.