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Cheer

Static Traps

(Benbecula; US: Unavailable; UK: 18 Feb 2008)

Alec Cheer’s music is like a snake eating its own tail; it has no real beginning or end. Static Traps, his latest addition to Benbecula’s storied Minerals Series, is all found soundscapes and minimal acoustic guitar taken to extreme lengths. While sounds of a vinyl record tracking and a fireworks battle taken in from a distance have their own quaint charm, it’s rare that a song here will actually have a discernible peaks or structure. That’s fine enough for basic ambient sound, like the kind that seeps in through your bedroom window in the early morning, but it’s a hard case to grant that much in the way of artistic control. Yet, you know that’s in him somewhere. “Afterthought” immediately sticks out as a wondrous two-minute exploration of Robbie Basho meets Evans & Doherty folk, with the most spirited plucking on the album. “Optimism In Buckets” is up there too, with a more morose guitar and what sounds like a cello accompaniment. It’d be nice to hear a little more of that, songs that tell you a story instead of driving your out into the middle of nowhere. Otherwise, there ain’t much here that really captures your attention or imagination.

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Ranta is a music geek from East Vancouver. He spends most of his time researching, procuring, listening to, and writing about music. Since 2004, his work has appeared in such publications as Exclaim!, CBC Music, Tiny Mix Tapes, and PopMatters, and he has been a Polaris Music Prize juror since 2010. He graduated from SFU's Contemporary Arts program with a BFA in music in Summer 2011.


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