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1 44m50s
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07/15/2024
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3 Reviews
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If you’re familiar with Cameron Picton’s work in Black Midi, nothing about this project should be a surprise. While listening to this CD I couldn’t help but compare it to his song “Still”, off of Black Midis third LP, “Hellfire”. “Still” starts as a lovely and emotional folky ballad and ends in a long ambient descent into nothingness. The relationship between these two acts of the song is about a balance: between the humanness of singing and songwriting, utilizing folky aesthetics and vulnerability, juxtaposed with the otherness found in the emphasis on atmosphere and space, conjuring something celestial and sublime through production and recording techniques. This balance of ideas is also a fundamental aspect of “44m50s”.
In the form of one long track, “44m50s” is a collection of songs and ideas, presented in a very rough-around-the-edges mixtape. Consisting around 10 movements or “songs”, the content here ranges from long, abstract, ambient pieces made up of guitars, synthesizers, and field recordings, as well as a small handful of vocal tracks in the form of either singer-songwriter folk, or stunning ambient-pop (like the opening of the record). Most of this project will wash over you like a dream; like taking in media while half asleep, perceiving your imagination and reality simultaneously, in the same light, undistinguished from one another.
The most traditional “song” here is found in the 2nd movement, with a beautiful chorus of Cam repeating “don’t cry, you deserve this”. Although the verses have a certain theatrical playfulness, the chorus hits with a heartbreaking intensity, repeating twice before ending abruptly and throwing the listener back into the void of ambience and experimentation. This type of listening experience is not for everyone, prioritizing immersion and a use of sonic space rather than constant active engagement and entertainment (for example, the hyper-attention-grabbing prog-punk of Black Midi). However, this abstraction is exactly what I look for in a lot of contemporary music. The healthy relationship between songwriting and an experimental constructed ambience is an incredibly immersive way to construct an album. I would compare it in presence (not anything else mind you) to records like Slauson Malone 1’s “Excelsior”, Eno and Fred again..‘s “Secret Life”, or the last few albums by L’rain. They all share this balance between these two avenues of creating music, accomplishing the sonic equivalent of balancing an emphasis of character-driven narrative and world-building in a work of fiction. The context of these ideas boost them into a completely new means of interaction, utilizing length, timbre, and curation, alongside strong songwriting and performances, all as equally fundamental tools of crafting the listening experience.
In the form of one long track, “44m50s” is a collection of songs and ideas, presented in a very rough-around-the-edges mixtape. Consisting around 10 movements or “songs”, the content here ranges from long, abstract, ambient pieces made up of guitars, synthesizers, and field recordings, as well as a small handful of vocal tracks in the form of either singer-songwriter folk, or stunning ambient-pop (like the opening of the record). Most of this project will wash over you like a dream; like taking in media while half asleep, perceiving your imagination and reality simultaneously, in the same light, undistinguished from one another.
The most traditional “song” here is found in the 2nd movement, with a beautiful chorus of Cam repeating “don’t cry, you deserve this”. Although the verses have a certain theatrical playfulness, the chorus hits with a heartbreaking intensity, repeating twice before ending abruptly and throwing the listener back into the void of ambience and experimentation. This type of listening experience is not for everyone, prioritizing immersion and a use of sonic space rather than constant active engagement and entertainment (for example, the hyper-attention-grabbing prog-punk of Black Midi). However, this abstraction is exactly what I look for in a lot of contemporary music. The healthy relationship between songwriting and an experimental constructed ambience is an incredibly immersive way to construct an album. I would compare it in presence (not anything else mind you) to records like Slauson Malone 1’s “Excelsior”, Eno and Fred again..‘s “Secret Life”, or the last few albums by L’rain. They all share this balance between these two avenues of creating music, accomplishing the sonic equivalent of balancing an emphasis of character-driven narrative and world-building in a work of fiction. The context of these ideas boost them into a completely new means of interaction, utilizing length, timbre, and curation, alongside strong songwriting and performances, all as equally fundamental tools of crafting the listening experience.
Published
Surprising sound as it was quite different from his set with BCNR. A very interesting project though, its peaks were the the moments we get to hear him sing.
Published
Interesting first release for Camera Picture
Though being a longer project than any black midi album, 44m50s is just one track. Though it feels like many. If you have followed Cameron up until this point in his series of windmill concerts some of this will sound familiar. But a good chunk of this album is spent weaving through these repetitive collages of field recordings, sprawling guitars, and lo-fi production. You could draw comparisons to the likes of Mike Oldfield or Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but this composition feels much more like a collection of demos loosely strung together than the expertly woven passages of an album like Tubular Bells.
As an, at the time of this review, CD only release it makes sense, this one is for the fans.
Published
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Note: Unlike reviews, comments are considered temporary and may be deleted/purged without notice.What ballads has Cam sung? 7-eleven? lol
https://camerapicture.bandcamp.com/album/44m50s
> Look inside
> 44 minutes and 49 seconds long