Three albums in, and it's still pretty hard to pin down the duo that makes up The Berg Sans Nipple. Probably dismissed out of hand by many due to the inclusion of "nipple" in the band name, Shane Aspegren and Lori Sean Berg continue undaunted with their line in post-rock/cut and paste approach to music making.
Build With Erosion mostly leaves behind the post-rock for a claustrophobic journey through electro, dub, pro tools and jerky rhythms. Incredibly, TBSN manage to make the record sound natural and organic, and it's a really enjoyable listen. Recorded and written all over the globe, the record sprawls yet remains accessible, and begins with the changing rhythms and wonky vocals of 'Change the Shape'. It chops and changes throughout its running time, but shines via the instinctive percussion and chiming bells. The title track is doomy dubstep mixed with some charming reggae melodica, and contains the lyrics "I want to be an architect / and build with erosion", mirroring TBSN's mixture of destroying and rebuilding through their cut and paste approach.
Other highlights are the grooving 'Le Cadavre Exquis' with its chanting and watery synths, the Portishead-esque 'Terroir', replete with jazzy drumming and burbling electro and the thrilling 'Sunday Morning' which skips along with childlike freedom.
'Body Movement' is an unsettling journey through a number of changes of pace, before 'All People' brings a touch of gentle dub to proceedings with echo-laden vocals, and final track 'Pink Rays Sugar' is a sweetly chiming end to the album.
To quote TBSN they "reconstruct by knocking down" and Build With Erosion does break down rhythms and song structures before patching them up and creating something that's just a touch off-kilter. There's elements of Tortoise and other such "post-rock" acts that take a slightly different approach to the genre, and while TBSN are never likely to give listeners an easy time of it, this album is fun journey for those who want to climb aboard.
Below is the wonderful video for 'Change the Shape'.
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