There?s no difficulty in seeing commonalities between Chicago collective Chord and this generation?s drone lords, SunnO))), but more than sound, it?s the fact that both bands were formed around concepts that seems to draw them together. With SunnO))), it was grimrobes and walls of amps, and with Chord, who make their Neurot Recordings debut with the full-length Flora, it?s what can happen when four guitarists unite in notes to play a single chord. Hence the name.

It?s kind of like The League of Crafty Guitarists gone drone, and what it mostly rounds out to is waves of feedback and noise that occasionally intertwine gorgeously to create the actual chord itself. The four tracks on Flora, ?Am7,? ?Gmaj (bflat13),? ?E9? and ?Am,? obviously named after the respective chords, aren?t just about achieving that unison, rather exploring the notes themselves, pushing them, distorting them and discovering what textures can be created through and by them. There are no vocals, no drums, no samples or bass, just the guitars of Kyle Benjamin, Trevor de Brauw (whom Chicago post-metal aficionados will recognize from Pelican), Jason Hoffman and Phil Dole. Don?t ask who?s playing which note.

Of course, something?s bound to be lost in the experience. It?s not like by putting Flora on four dudes are going to show up in your living room with amps, plug in and have at it. But as a pure listening-only adventure, the record still has much to offer those with a willing ear. I?m a little surprised Tribes of Neurot didn?t already think of doing this (maybe that?s why they signed Chord in the first place), but if the cleverness of the concept is a big part of the appeal, getting to hear that, even if not in a live setting where the sheer volume can overwhelm as it simply must, is as satisfying and engaging as drone can get.

Granted, there?s a good lot of noise on here and for a good lot of people that?s a big turnoff, but for the converted few, Flora will be a welcome find. The record provides a challenging listen and an interesting concept, and while maybe there probably won?t be a driving emotional convergence with most who come across it, the ambience connects on a cerebral level that can be just as fulfilling.

Chord on MySpace

Neurot Recordings

Tags: Chicago, Chord, Neurot, Pelican

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 at 3:16 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.