Invisible Design II

Invisible Design II showcases Bill Laswell playing a series of "compositions" — that feel more like improvisations — completely solo, a decade later follow-up to Invisible Design that appeared in the Tzadik Composer Series in 1999. Laswell plays fretless and eight-string basses, and uses loads of effects to create either sonically atmospheric backdrops or multi-layered bass parts to accompany himself on these ten selections. The results are busier than those found on the first volume, musically more agile and compelling. That said, Laswell's love of ambient textures and soundscapes is also indulged here, and notions of space, silence, depth of field, and subharmonics are utilized as interludes between more active numbers-"Aphasia," walks the line between futurist space dub and ambient dub, while "Sub Sonnet," which follows it, immediately moves from dub to complete sonic wave drifts of varying tones and levels of distortion that still create a sense of float and hover. Other tracks, such as "Pillar," enter and leave as simply a series of pitches added to by efx without any noticeable "playing." The set closes with the beautiful and sometimes tense "Darkness After," that employs some of Laswell's most understated melodic tendencies as well as his love of King Crimson's more paranoid fantasies with fuzz and distortion (think of the long bass or guitar sections in some live versions of "Fractured"). If you are a Las fan, this will more than likely keep your interest over the entire 50 minutes, if you are anything less than that, this will most likely be a minor curiosity.