Album Notes

Bill Horist pushes the limits of what an electric guitar can do, but he's not the typical one-trick pony who grabs onto one technique or effect and runs with it. Horist has obviously profited from his numerous guest appearances and band memberships over the past five years, playing everything from ambient and rock to noise-jazz and industrial music. Several tracks are anchored by clanking, gutteral guitar loops, while others are looser and more impressionistic - even delicate at times. Horist's palette of sounds can resemble a Moog synthesizer, theremin or even an ethnic reed instrument as much as a guitar - and further afield, can sometimes suggest exploding musical raindrops, distressed felines or demented killer bees. The interactive loops and monolithic blocks of guitar noise may suggest a crazed Robert Fripp updated for the new milennium, but Horist's scratching and scrabbling also takes him into the conceptual territory of Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser or even Eugene Chadbourne. Most importantly, Horist is not just an arsenal of freaky sound effects. Each of the CD's 11 pieces has a distinct mood and shape, and the range and quality of the material identify Horist as an artist who deserves serious attention from the experimental-music community. - Bill Tilland (Alternative Press - January 2001)