REVIEW: Single Gun Theory, Flow, River of My Soul (Nettwerk/IRS)
- Al Crawford
Flow, River Of My Soul is the third album-length outing by Australian trio Single Gun Theory. Since I'd enjoyed the group's two previous albums Exorcise This Wasteland and Like Stars In My Hand, it was with some anticipation that I slipped this new album into my CD player.
The feelings engendered by the album are a mixture of pleasure and disappointment. Mainly the former, however, Flow is a very good album, up to the high standard of Like Stars In My Hand. However it is a little *too* close to the sound of that album. Since Like Stars is a long-time personal favorite, that's not entirely a bad thing, but one is sometimes left with the feeling here that SGT are resting on their laurels. No matter how successful a formula is, no matter how enjoyable the results of applying that formula are, its repeated use will produce a result that is somehow...formulaic.
That said, the SGT formula is a unique one. Jacqui Hunt's vocals are wonderful, possessed of an almost unearthly quality (that's unearthly in the ethereal and angelic sense, rather than in the head-spinning Diamanda Galas "possessed by assorted demons" sense). They fuse nicely with the music and samples of Pete Rivett-Carnac and Kath Power. The music is excellent - largely synthesised, lush and melodic and often possessed of a distinctive dance beat, yet shot through with Indian instrumentation and with an alien, almost haunting quality. It somehow manages to be both highly rhythmic and danceable yet relaxed and almost horizontally laid-back at the same time.
The samples used are also worthy of a mention. They are an unconventional mixture of metaphysics, middle- and far-eastern street musicians recorded by the group themselves, historical vocal snippets (as varied as Pope John XXIII and Robert Oppenheimer) and the Twilight Zone.
It is difficult to pick out individual tracks to mention. Most adhere closely to the style set out in Like Stars In My Hand and anyone familiar with that album will find few surprises here. However, one or two tracks do diverge from that formula a little. "Decimated" relies heavily on Indian instrumentation, air-raid sirens and the previously mentioned Robert Oppenheimer sample, with no hint of a dance beat. "My Estranged Wife" is also atypical, and reminds me rather more of their older, Exorcise This Wasteland material in its lack of a dance element, although it's slower paced and rather less "crunchy" than the material from that album. "Metaphysical" is also interesting, opening with an intro that's straight off of the previous album before launching into something that's uncharacteristically energetic and demonstrates a strong techno influence.
In conclusion, Flow, River Of My Soul may not be a huge step forward from their previous album but is still well worth a listen. Anyone who enjoyed Like Stars In My Hand is unlikely to be disappointed by this one, and I'd also recommend it to anyone looking for an esoteric combination of female vocals (intoning lyrics that, if occasionally tending towards meaningless pseudo-spiritual psycho-babble, are still light-years ahead of most of the tired cliches that pass for lyrics in contemporary dance music) and subtle, well-crafted dance-oriented pop. Highly recommended - I guess that some formulae are well worth sticking to.
