Sian Alice Group – Troubled, Shaken, Etc.

Labels are a roadblock for some bands. Some clearly reside in the pop/rock category, while others are clearly and inherently defined by their distinctive musical qualities. Just as the presence of horns or the non-presence of lyrics usually indicates a jazz record of sorts, the 4/4 thump of an alternating kick and snare beat points tellingly to a pop/rock song. But what to do when these signifiers are noticeably absent? What to do to categorize the free-form aural shapes and feathery vocals of a band like Sian Alice Group? Creating new categories of music can be so…useless. Especially when the music is its own architect.

The perplexity and intensity of Sian Alice Group’s songs heighten in unexpected ways on their sophomore album, Troubled, Shaken, Etc. The inclusion of a steady vibraphone current on “Close to the Ground” gives way to a darker, distorted sound, a bit like Paul Simon’s Rhythm of the Saints being squeezed through The Jesus and Mary Chain’s amplifiers. (Tellingly, SAG’s first album 59:59 featured a contribution from Douglas Hart of the aforementioned band.)

Additionally, SAG revel in the freedom of using natural sounding synthesizer techniques and aural trickery. “Grow Again, Repeat” and “Airlock” both emanate razor-thin backdrops of (what sounds like) wind against a hollow and the ripple of sound waves across water. Elements like these push the band into territory alongside avant groups such as Merzbow or Current 93. SAG insist upon more structure to their songs, though, and the results are acute and sharp, yet loose enough to be mesmerized by. Album opener, “Love that Moves the Sun” is a highly engrossing, yet simple song that recalls Low without the sense of menace and “Through Air Over Water” feels like a comedown moment from one of Air’s later records.

Troubled, Shaken, Etc. can be a bit to frenetic and malformed at times, more like a collection of half-gleaned ideas that would benefit from some strict editing. Song length presents more of a hindrance than a boon to their free-form ideas; more than a few songs spend about three of their four minutes getting started before aiming their trajectory elsewhere. “Vanishing” spends its time with a teaser of an intro before cutting to the heart, while “First Song—Angelina” repeats an immobile piano line for nearly all of its seven minutes.

Troubled, Shaken, Etc. is best not absorbed as a whole, from start to finish. Rather, it’s more plainly affective when songs are allowed to transpire in their own time and when the listener is ready to have them. Ultimately, the experimentation of sounds and the striking vocals of Sian Ahren make Troubled, Shaken, Etc. worth the journey, but it’s best to understand that there are flat spots along the way where it might be best to skip ahead, keeping the broader landscape in mind.

Tagged as: Avant Garde Rock, London, post-rock

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.