On “Collapse,” Wolf Eyes co-founder Nate Young bucks his M.O. with a nice reversal: while the bulk of Young’s work can be handily summed up as “noise sculpting” (kneading raw noise material until it develops a digestible shape and structure), “Collapse” instead begins with conventional music — a looping, Hitchcock-esque piano crawl — that sizzles and boils towards its ultimate dissolution. It’s not exactly that the piano melody disappears, so much as it becomes flattened by its own repetition. The track’s title, of course, fits nicely.
What’s really rad is the expectation/fulfillment system that Young manipulates. The piano melody, which, as already mentioned, has a slasher-type vibe to it, sets the scene of a dark road, flickering street lamps, static in the air. More than ambient, the track is dissonant, which is a clear and important difference. When the louder buzzing starts up, we can’t help but anticipate some grizzly scene. And while the music does push the dissonance, there’s never really a catharsis. From the beginning, we expect the road to be leading somewhere huge and devouring. Instead, it keeps going. In fact, the track eventually fades out…
If you’re a fan of Young’s work with Wolf Eyes and Stare Case, be sure to check his solo LP, Stay Asleep, to which “Collapse” is the closer. It’s out November 15 on NNA Tapes, with a supporting tour following through December. Check here for dates, and don’t forget to read our interview with Young here.
• Nate Young: http://www.wolfeyes.net
• NNA Tapes: http://www.nnatapes.com
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