Consisting of one new 42-minute track recorded live in guess-where, Lisbon encapsulates the best moments from Keith Fullerton Whitman’s two Kranky-released full-lengths. The track begins in a very Eno-esque environment with processed guitar sine waves slowly crossing one another and creating short moments of tension and release. The slowly building hypnotism stops at the 15-minute mark, when a host of what sound like surge-modulated cicadas begin to swarm and dither. Eventually their buzz becomes a roar that hoists the piece to a triumphant climax, consolidating Whitman’s reputation as a one-man Godspeed You Black Emperor! The piece then devolves into a field recording that sounds like clowns wearing thick rubber shoes playing basketball underwater; it isn’t nearly as entertaining as you’d think. But a dozen minutes of wankery are a small price to pay for a half-hour of perfection.

On the Web
Keith Fullerton Whitman: //www.keithfullertonwhitman.com/

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