Victorine Meurent – Even Less Of The Harmony Of Maine MC Found Remains 2019
Victorine Meurent are an Australia project, which I understand is the solo project of the individual behind the Vienna Press cassette label. This would appear to be the third release from the project. As for an initial observation, one of the track titles provides a nod to American abstract expressionism, which itself perhaps gives an indication of the experimental end, rather than post-industrial end of the sonic spectrum. Four tracks of a minimalist experimental ambient type spans around 26 minutes.
With reference to opening track Untitled 9, sustained, yet muted and minimalist melodies are delivered at catatonic pace and function for abstracted and meditative effect. Likewise when field recordings sporadically appear, it pushes the sound into musique concrète territory (refer to Untitled (Betty Parsons Gallery as an example). Likewise, towards the end of Here, Not There references the Australian suburbs, where the field recordings of bird calls and sparse street noise is distinctly recognisable from my own childhood experiences of growing up in the ‘burbs’. Untitled 8 rounds out the tape, and while utilizing the same droning sonic and melodic spectrum, there is an ever so slight increase in compositional urgency.
Being a slight deviation from typical fare reviewed via Noise Receptor Journal, this is artistically evocative, and showcases what can be achieved with mood and atmosphere from the most minimalist of compositional elements.
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