His Name Is Alive Patterns of Light, Tashi Dorji & Tyler Damon Both Will Escape
His Name Is Alive
Patterns of Light
(Light in the Attic)
This writer firmly believes Warren Defever, the Michigan musician and only constant member of His Name Is Alive for its 30 years of existence, is some kind of eccentric, prolific genius whose diverse output—over 100 different releases so far—features a varying cast of (mostly) female singers and disparate material that a normal person would never guess would be from the same band.
It had a remarkable run of albums on the label 4AD, going from the dark, troubling, otherworldly beauty of Livonia in 1990 to the soul-funk slow jams of 2002’s Last Night.
Some fans of His Name Is Alive’s ethereal early work might not have forgiven them for their unsubtle, distorted guitar-fueled rock turns, like the bombastic version of “The Dirt Eaters” on 1993’s Mouth by Mouth that was completely different from the soothing version released the year before.
Those who have seen Defever live can vouch that he is a formidable guitarist, capable of effortlessly peeling off Hendrix-esque runs and face-melting vamps—check out “Wish I Had a Wishing Ring” for starters—and fans will just have to accept that rock is an undeniable facet of the group’s complicated history.
This brings us to the new His Name Is Alive album, Patterns of Light, which is clearly obsessed with heavy and hard rock from the ‘70s, like Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath, with prog-rock touches, like nimble organ patterns that may bring to mind the band Yes. (It’s telling that the “Super Set” special edition of Patterns of Light includes an embroidered patch that borrows the cover art design from Yes’ debut album.)
The album is also obsessed with physics and the Large Hadron Collider, mixed with fantasy elements, creation myths and medieval manuscripts. The calm and pretty layered vocal harmonies of Andrea Morici is in stark contrast with meaty riffs from Defever and second guitarist Dusty Jones, and it’s surprising—in the best way possible—just how satisfying the heavy rock guitar riffage and wailing can be.
Enjoy it before His Name Is Alive inevitably redefines itself again, as it has done many times before.
Tashi Dorji & Tyler Damon
Both Will Escape
(Family Vineyard)
It almost seems like a paradox: if you force yourself to never abide by any rules, then that itself is a rule. A more amusing way to put it is to say aloud, in your best professional-wrestling-announcer voice, “The only rule is: there are no rules!”
In the music world, free improvisation is the name given for improvisation that has no genre in mind, and in an enlightening interview for The Quietus, Asheville, N.C. guitarist Tashi Dorji and Bloomington, Ind. percussionist Tyler Damon discuss a strain of purists in the realm of free improvisation who might disagree with some of the methods of Dorji and Damon, including making edits on the duo’s new improvised album Both Will Escape.
Ultimately, the twosome’s goal is to present the best possible output, rules be damned, and Damon commented, “I’m going to reject dogma every single time. There’s no place for it.”
There’s no denying that Dorji and Damon are onto something; Both Will Escape is one hell of an album with the ability to simultaneously agitate and nourish with monstrous sounds. This writer envisions, figuratively, two people on fire, throwing gasoline on each other.
“Two Rabbits” offers furious chugging, like aural sparks from an arc welder, and chiming harmonics with chaotic hits and cymbal taps and crashes from Damon. The clangs and tight, intimate beats from Damon on the album’s title track lead to Dorji’s echoing and subsequent fang-bearing snarls, ending with abstract stabs punctuated with bells.
Dorji’s playing on “Gate Left Open” first resembles a cyborg mouse squeaking and scampering, with Damon’s pitter-patters in dialogue; the tone escalates and morphs into something large and grotesque. Free improv purists might frown upon the final track, “Kudzu Weave,” with patterns forming, as Dorji and Damon lock into loose grooves, but with satisfying results like these, listeners shouldn’t get hung up.
Make your own rules, then feel free to break them.