By Nick Ostrum
If one can judge by releases and coverage (mainly in the DMG newsletter),
Robert Dick seems to have hit a late career renaissance. My first exposure
to him was 2021’s
Structures of Unreason
in a rare flutes-guitars-electronics duo with Nicola Hein. Then, I
stumbled upon his 2024 duo with harpist Stephan Haluska,
Crop Circles,which was the under-recognized gem of the year, as far as I am
concerned. After those,I had to pick up this latest outing. On it,
Dick (various flutes including his own Glissando Headjoint flute) and
Haluska (prepared harp) are joined by bassist Jason Ilgenfritz for seven
cuts of free and unconventional chamber music.
Time Wants a Skeleton is a scratchy and breathy affair. Ilgenfritz
and Haluska torque and rattle their instruments while Dick cuts his way
through the stringed thicket with heaves and flutters. The rattles continue,
though more idiomatic sounds – pizzicato and arco – cut in and out. Stasis,
however, is never attained and the music remains rough and unstable.
Sunbathing with Jonah, the second track, begins sparsely with unintelligible
ogre grunts scatting dances atop bass drones. This leads into the titular
piece, which is also by far the longest, at over 11 minutes. Whisps of
dirges entangle with deep bass tones and what sounds like an insistent mouth
harp. It all unfolds so slowly, though a third in, Dick takes over with a
spirited section of trills and other quivering sounds that seem to
invigorate Haluska and Ilgenfritz, pushing them into a more traditional
propulsive war, albeit sans rhythm. By the end, however, the musicians have
caught themselves and opened even more space in the piece, and it tumbles to
its conclusion, like music box slowing due to declining torque, only for
someone to turn the crank a couple more times to bring the piece buzzing
towards its end.
The rest of the album proceeds with similar variation. Slow Splash is heavy
on the flute, and sounds like a modern etude, laying lines of drone and hum
in various layers and for various durations, with a series of spare, then
increasingly frequent plucks mimicking the patter of a slow drizzle. How Do
You Can It To Deny relies more on moody strings for atmosphere with flute
whispers atop it. The Memory You Need starts quietly, but picks up into a
series of chime rattles, nervous strings, and aerophonic swoops and sirens
that evoke the dark psychological tension and strangeness of a Hitchcock
film. The final cut, Not Only In The Dry Of The Century But Also On Normal
Days, displays a similar moodiness, but with a more central role delegated
to Haluska’s than Ilgenfritz’s strings. That is, until the end when the
later makes a striking appearance with a heavy and prolonged thrum that
seems to drag the piece to the final bar. This track also sticks out because
it is the first and maybe only to stumble upon a sustained direction (in a
loose harp leitmotif and tempo about halfway through), which it follows
through to the final bars.
All in all, Time Wants a Skeleton is a stellar release. It is earthy
(all sounds are acoustic) and ethereal, which seems fitting given the sci-fi
origins of the title and the slight weirdness of every moment. It shows
phenomenal responsivity that speaks to some organic connection among the
members of the trio, who seem to move together in waves rather than by cues.
And, within that, it still proudly wears a close-miked grit and graininess
that keeps it grounded. This sounds like I am listening to the performance
in a bar – minus the distractive ambience that implies – and that raw
intimacy only adds to the effect.
Time Wants a Skeleton is available as a cassette and download
through Bandcamp:
.