Released as Tape Cassette on Armed Within Movement label
www.armedwithinmovement.com
Voorwerp’s comprises of two nine-minute tracks, which combine the softest elements of drone, and the harder edges of ambient, and are akin to the best bit of ‘Shine On . . .’, which is it’s introductory sequence. What Finglebone, aka Adam Varney, does, is to stop before the theme gives way to cliché. Pink Floyd were well past their best, when it came to the extended format, by 1975, and Barrett even said the track sounded old. Finglebone, on the other hand, by sticking rigidly to one musical theme at a time, has created something that would sound contemporary in any era, and he hasn’t had to weld it to any teary verse-chorus strum-along songs in order to get the job done.
Voorwerp is subtle, and is mysterious like its cosmic namesake. It achieves a great deal, without doing a lot, and this is down to some excellent instrumentation, a good deal of thoughtful self-confidence, and a few happy accidents no doubt. Perhaps though, Voorwerp’s defining feature is in Finglebone’s mastery of the field recording, which only ever seems to enhance his material, by adding to the journey, and not overshadowing the music, for it becomes an intrinsic part of it. A decade into his home-recording career, and Finglebone’s quality keeps growing. Long may he run, for he’s a long way off Wish You Were Here, which might mean his Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon are still to come.
Cloud Runner (blog)
crateromys.wordpress.com/cloudrunner/
Finglebone’s droney guitar noodling proved to be the most therapeutic way to watch the Hungarian countryside pass by. I should have made a video of the blurring greenery and used Adam Varney’s melancholy pluck as background. Merging drones and field recordings with his echoing guitar work Varney creates pieces that evoke atmospheres more usually associated with Ry Cooder [and maybe even the more recent Bad Suburban Nightmare]. These are melancholy pieces in which Varney’s slightly struck electric guitar strings reverberate into the ether helped along the way by the sound of rushing water and large hums. A hint of Cocteau Twin, a smattering of Jim O’Rourke, somehow veering towards New Age but having enough originality to stop it falling in to that category. All very relaxing and contemplative.
IDWAL FISHER blog