Excluding a few early, limited releases,
No Home of the Mind
is the third proper full-length from pianist
David Moore
's post-minimalist ensemble
Bing & Ruth
, and their debut for legendary indie label
4AD
. While 2010's
City Lake
was created by 11 musicians, including two vocalists, and featured compositions stretching past the ten-minute mark,
No Home
continues with the more refined sound of
's 2014 breakthrough
Tomorrow Was the Golden Age
. That album featured seven musicians, and
is even more stripped-down, as
Moore
is only joined by clarinetist
Jeremy Viner
, bassists
Jeff Ratner
and
Greg Chudzik
, and tape delay operator
Mike Effenberger
. Even with a reduced personnel, it doesn't feel as if anything is missing. These pieces seem to drift a bit more than the ones on the previous two albums, but they're still highly focused. On several selections,
plays his piano in a cascading style reminiscent of the "continuous music" of
Lubomyr Melnyk
, with clusters of notes rushing in an ecstatic blur. Opening track "Starwood Choker" and "Form Takes" are both examples of this, and two of the album's highlights. On other tracks, the notes are sparser and more solemn, but the playing style on pieces like "As Much as Possible" still seems to require an enormous amount of discipline in order to master. While
's piano often seems to be the lead "voice" of the compositions, the other musicians play a vital role in shaping the moods and atmospheres of the pieces. It makes sense that one of the group members is solely in charge of tape delay, as there's enough of it to warrant a full-time position, and it greatly accentuates the snowy, hazy qualities of the music. While the music is generally calm and reflective, there are several darker moments. "Flat Line/Peak Colour" opens with a sorrowful, rainfall-like piano melody, and gradually seems more concerned and alarmed, eventually getting as doom-filled as this group gets. But even at their most dramatic,
still can't help but sound effortlessly pretty. As with previous albums,
seems to delight in twisting grammar for his titles, which include "The How of It Sped," "To All It," and "What Ash It Flow Up." While he doesn't quite have the self-deprecating humor of
Kyle Bobby Dunn
, he seems to agree that this sort of music doesn't have to seem so serious or academic, and that there's room for absurdity and playfulness. Melancholy but not overbearingly so,
is thoroughly entrancing, and another triumph for
. ~ Paul Simpson