Drop

Product Reviews:

In an interview in 1997, Tim Story told me his next CD would be darker than his usual work. He wasn't kidding. While not Lustmord or Lightwave, Drop (a collaboration between Tim and sound sculptor Dwight Ashley) is certainly not the Perfect Flaw Part 2 either. What is it? Well, it's kind of a hybrid of the electronics and textures of Tim's work on Glass Green and earlier recordings, melded with the mood of Robert Rich's A Troubled Resting Place.

"A Ripening" starts Drop off with some signature Story motifs (minimalist piano runs and subtle shadings of synthesizer), but immediately I was struck by a presence of darkness, mystery and a certain sense of dread. On the second song, "Rooster," the romantic piano runs are gone, supplanted by very ominous synth rumblings and background percussive effects. This is heavy duty stuff — post-industrial space music? Blade Runner neo-futuristic soundscapes? And that's just for starters. "The Intraocular Snare" is weirdly mysterious, filled again with a vague post — industrial feeling, along with looped sound affects, minor key chimes, and — yes — snares. Yow! A dark Mass in some forgotten grotto?

On "Jealous Entropy" (Tim still has those deliciously ambiguous titles) I hear more of the "usual" Story keyboard minimilism, but again there is an element of industrial treatments, dark noise, and foreboding. Maybe you'd call this horrible beauty — and out of nowhere, an electric guitar pierces the heart of the song! I became aware of an almost organic nature to the underlying music, as if the song itself was breathing in a rising and falling of electronic respiration

Who came to mind as I listened to this atypical recording was another master of the dark and mildly discordant, Jeff Greinke. I have Jeff's recording, In Another Place, and Drop takes me on the same trip as that one does, although without Jeff's wonderfully kinetic rhythms.

"Twist and Writhe" has some mildly frenetic piano and synth playing with almost playful (well, in an Addam's Family kind of way , I suppose) synth percussive effects. The tempo is up but the mood is kind of, "Look at the dead thing I found in the basement." Don't get me wrong. I like this CD — how could I not.

Tim and Dwight have fashioned some incredible visualistic music, filled with moments of dread, beauty, fear, and pain. The title track is a somber and desolate piece that easily ranks with the best from the Perfect Flaw or Beguiled even though musically it bears little true resemblance to either one. Then there is "Hang Up and Try Again" with its shimmery synth mirrored by very low register synth rumblings. Wonderfully disturbing. Thats how I’d sum up this recording — disturbing (check out the album cover!). Those who expect to hear more of the delicate chamber-music-like quality of the Perfect Flaw maybe in over their head with Drop. If you long for the more idiosyncratic work of Tim's earlier recordings (pre Glass Green) or if your an ambient fan looking for something less droney and more experimental, this maybe up your alley. It’s a dark and scary alley at times. You never know what's in the shadows if you don't go looking sometimes. Just be sure to bring a flashlight. On second thought ...
— Wind/Wire

This is a most interesting pair. Primarily, multi instrumentalist Story is a melodic musician whose music reveals deep truths. Ashley seems to be the disruptive experimentalist — a Moebius to Story's Roedelius. Listen to the pair's "The Intraocular Snare," for example: Ashley's menacing, synthesized snare constantly interrupts Story's placid lyrical line; the piece develops a subtle tension that makes for bracing listening. On "Twist and Writhe," Ashley's metallic sounds overlay Story's frolicking piano rhythm, which makes for a macabre dance. In other places, it is impossible to tell who contributes what. For example, on "Rift (Babything)," Tim's infant daughter Cara supplies cries that are synthesized and morphed to make for a spacy mini-orchestra. On the title track, Ashley and Story contribute a slow, abstruse dirge that sets a mysterious, ominous mood. "The Alcohol Years" sounds as if it was recorded in a well; it's reverberant chimes and drones are appropriately bathed in reverb. Despite the obvious comparisons to the German duo Cluster, these Ohio residents explore their own fertile ground.
— Option