Band : Transitional

Album title : Nothing Real Nothing Absent

Label : Soultheft - Conspiracy

Distributor : Conspiracy

Release date : 27/05/2008

Release : CD

You know, I always look out with stretched neck (of knowing anticipation) for new Conspiracy releases, because they almost invariably stretch the listener's patience to the limit when it concerns envigorating Drone music. With Transitional, they've added yet another class act, of which I dó hope future releases will be forthcoming!

In September 2006, Novatron musician (guitar, programming, voice) Kevin Laska [who's also collaborated in the past with the likes of Anthony Difranco (Ramleh, ex-Skullflower) and Russel Smith (whose antecedents I ain't certain of) and made some music on his own as well] joined forces with bassist Dave Cochrane [whose curriculum includes not only a longtime collaboration with Justin Broadrick (founding member of Godflesh, played with Napalm Death, Head Of David, Jesu, and has revived his first band Final)and Kevin Martin (has collaborated with Broadrick on a number of projects, such as Techno Animal, Curse Of The Golden Vampire, and saw Broadrick contribute to his own bands God and Ice), but also plays with Jesu, Grey Machine, The Courtesy Group...].

Together, they set to composing a number of tracks which defy imagination...well, it depends whóse imagination, because there IS already a very large fanbase for this kind of music (the average music listener, however, may feel somewhat tested indeed). Soundscapes which deliver both sonic tranquility and extremely heavy slabs of dense music with a certain degree of complexity and high repetition/ loop factor or, as the label describes it so perfectly: "...a rich variety in their approach to sound combining crushing atmospheres through a mixture of electronic ambience, mangling bass lines and distorted epic layers of textured guitar, injected with driving rhythms and effected vocal phrasing...(Laska and Cochrane) build discordant worlds on an immense scale which pull you down to another level of fear and ethereal bliss before kicking off with some more soul dismantling sonic dysfunction...". With track lengths varying from 3:44 to 6:53, the album offers a total of 6 tracks (totalling at only 33:11) including the two-part "This Paradise". Conspiracy offers you the possibility to listen to 1-minute streams of all tracks at conspiracy.com, but longer sample versions of album openers "Nowhere Shining" and "Fractured", plus a full-length version of "Lustless" (both in an earlier version and the one featured on the album) can be found at myspace.com/transitionaluk. 4 of the tracks contain "vocals"...actually simple short phrazes done through vocoder on both parts of "This Paradise", and a somewhat more elaborate phrazing on "Lustless" (which therefore deserves the title of "song"), while you'll have dear trouble finding the appropriate short passage on "Nowhere Shining". Having heard the album befóre goin' out on an info-seeking search, I wandered around on the Internet somewhat to find out more about Laska's other musical occupations, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised!

THIS kind of music is best listened to at high volume...or at least with headphones...and especially in the calmer passages, because only then do all the layers come through. Definitely food for people into the whole cannabis culture, or those among us who've succeeded in calling up those intoxicated feelings when listening to this kind of exhilerating drone music! Definitely a "Best Album Of 2008" nomination item!

98/100

Tony.