2007 Albums Review rock: four tet Kieran Hebden sunburned hand of the man
COMMENT?
Sunburned Hand of the Man – Fire Escape (Smalltown Supersound, 2007)
According to their website, there is an official discography. But honestly, how accurate can it be if the recording life of this ensemble dates back to ’94? Allied to the new wave of private press pseudo hippies, Sunburned has worked its’ way to a relatively strong following amidst the media drooling over the likes of Wooden Wand and Akron/Family. Consistent touring and recordings documenting free form performances and or jams sit Sunburned squarely in a position to grow their listener-ship. Releasing a disc, Z, earlier this year on Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label, probably doesn’t hurt either.
As for Fire Escape, the band is joined by Kieran Hebden (Four Tet). And while sonic manipulations have always been apart of Sunburneds’ oeuvre to some extent, Hebden makes his presence felt. For a band that even apes the Dead’s artwork, utilizing a producer aligned with IDM seems like an odd posturing. Of course there are those listeners that will undoubtedly get into this disc as a result of Hebden’s production. But why him? And why now?
The answer to those questions may be found in the form of “Parakeet Beat”, which is all percussion, loops and production. The troglodyte inclinations of this band, and others of their background, do point towards an eventual percussion jam, which “Parakeet Beat” is, of course. The pronounced affinity for krautrock from both producer and musicians here also contribute to the success of this track, which seems an odd high point considering the instrumental limitations. A scant two songs latter, the title track confirms any inkling related to the players’ angling at repetitive white-folk, electro funk.
Other sections of the disc display Sunburned in its natural habitat, but ever once in a while, the listener may want to re-examine a specific section to find whether it was a musician making that noise or Hebden inducing sounds. The band, here on Fire Escape, takes a step, regardless of how minute it is, towards a new music, or at least a new avenue for them to spread their hedonistic lifestyle to accepting audiences.
