[reviews] afe121cd
meerkat: kapnos

I'm slightly confused as to the "what" of this CD. The "who" is plainly marked - I'm not going to list them here as there're ten of the blighters - and consist of several who have passed through Wonderful Wooden Reasons before alongside several who haven't.

Where my confusion lies is that the insert gives details on each individual track and all are duo pieces with the exception of one trio. So, it's not a "group" as such so I'm going to think of them as a "collective".

The more I listen the more apt this word becomes as there is a real feeling of communality here. No one track or pairing stands out above the rest. There is no unnecessary showboating or "Look at me!" declarations. Which equally, dependant on mood, could be construed as lack of ambition and a surrender to uniformity but today I don't feel that.

Each piece flows so seamlessly into the next that it is almost impossible to track the changes. For the most part "Kapnos" consists of slow burn ambient drone pieces given extra depth through the addition of field recordings (lots of recordings of fire).

There are a couple of tracks made entirely from played sounds which serve to add further scope to the album. The end result is a very earthy form of darkly psychedelic ambience that whilst being maybe a little homogeneous is certainly a rewarding listen.

[Ian Holloway]