Perfection should by default be considered something suspicious, and that’s mostly because it simply doesn’t exist. This Thursday morning at my office, for example. Sure, it may seem just fine from an outsider’s perspective (that’s you, dear Chocolate Grinder patrons [Editor’s Note: <3<3<3<3]). I’ve got my coffee here, Pitchfork announced its new print edition… things couldn’t get any better, amirite? iamwrong. In fact, my coffee tastes horrible, I forgot my lunch at home, and I have a pile of billing sitting next to me on my desk that I need to get through. The point is that the perfect is never perfect because it is constantly covered, shrouded and clouded with distortion on the periphery.
And this is the kind of vibe that PHORK (an acronym for “People’s Higher Order of Royal Kinship”) nails to the wall for the aptly titled “Paradise Stress,” from his new cassette release American Tao on Noumenal Loom that follows outings with NNA Tapes, Orange Milk, and Opal Tapes. The track presents a serene and pristine Boards of Canada-like synth refrain, surrounds it with nervous noise, and balances itself upon a platform of unstable bass that rumbles like thunder. It’s at once a beautiful environment while also unsettling, dark, and mysterious — the type of place that could be a wonderful dream or a terrifying nightmare depending on your perspective. And perspective as a theme translates to the visual realm with Mateo Marquez’s hypnotizing video accompaniment as well, offering up a cornucopia of color, sliced with shadowy grays into a shattered frame of revolving hues. But no matter from which angle you look at this thing (or listen to it - headphones strongly recommended, of course), it’s pretty mesmerizing.
• PHORK: http://slow-rave.tumblr.com
• Noumenal Loom: http://noumenalloom.com
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