Akron, Ohio’s Trouble Books (husband and wife, Keith Freund and Linda Lejsovka) have recently released their new album, named Concatenating Fields. The band’s style continues to progress and is here clearly influenced by their work with Mark McGuire (of Emeralds fame), with whom they released a superb collaborative effort last year (NB. this album is sadly out of print but an electronic version is available for free download via the Bark & Hiss Records archive). There is a great blend of experimentation, noise/drone/ambient aesthetics and pop structures which combine to provide a deep, layered and highly intelligent record that never gets over-pretentious and remains listenable. The duo’s trademark sweet alternating vocals return, perfectly complimenting the dreamy atmosphere of the album.
The band say the inspiration for the album came from the minimalism and abstract geometry in the work of visual artists such as Bridget Riley and Julian Stanczak. Although I am no art (or indeed music) critic, I can certainly see (or rather hear) what they’re getting at; the comparison serves as a good description of the feel of the record. The band’s other description of the album is that it’s “not meant to be super conceptual or anything, just a cool album of nighttime grass thoughts”. That works too.
Fellow Europeans can get the album from MIE Music and North Americans from Bark & Hiss Records. Be aware that the LPs have a very limited release so hurry up if you want one!