Silent Currents (Live at Star's End)

Drawn from two live-on-air performances from 2002 and 2007 for a Philadelphia area radio show, Star's End, Silent Currents serves as a combination souvenir of Erik Wøllo's live work and a contrast in his approach five years later — there's not a radical difference, but it's interesting to hear how his general approach can take two distinctly unique paths. The 2002 session — termed "Silent Currents 1," in distinction to 2007's "Silent Currents 2" — can be broadly described as the warmer, gentler effort, while the 2007 session is much more ominous in overall feel. This said, both are clearly the work of the same composer using the same compositional tools. Hearing Wøllo shape the two performances, created live via pre-recorded efforts and improvised additions, can be almost as instructive as it is enjoyable; there's a sense of demonstration at work in how he brings a potential new part to the fore and then explores it, sometimes using simple repetition and sometimes a freer, almost randomized approach. The strong moments are often sudden, like the guitar gently appearing over the serene organ flow of "Silent Currents 1, Pt. 6" or, similarly but more direct, on "Silent Currents 2, Pt. 8," a spotlight moment of sorts. At the same time, these moments can be stealthy — the slow sink into crumbling echo and rumble on "Silent Currents 1, Pt. 10" or the sparkling flow that seems to start even before "Silent Currents 2, Pt. 5," yet which only achieves its fullness there. Meanwhile, the dark chill that begins the second session could be something out of a sci-fi nightmare or a late black metal album (or both), while the Morse code-ish crackle on "Silent Currents 2, Pt. 11," looped and set against further chill, could be the aliens trying to broadcast as much as Wøllo himself is. Sometimes things seem to become more a tribute to the source, thus the bubbling space synths on "Silent Currents 2, Pt. 13" that could almost be out of a late-'70s documentary, but it's an enjoyable tribute nonetheless.