Because we can
Time is often a pressing theme in art. Be it in a book or a film, humanity’s struggle against an apathetic force of nature is, paradoxically, timeless. Music is especially dependent upon time (as is cooking, or is that thyme?). Not only does its sound often denote the time in which it was made, music itself is all about timing, the space between the notes and number of them played in a specific instance. Machinefabriek attempt to circumvent this notion by making a record that feels distinctly out of time, a record that extends forth no sense of urgency and is content to linger within itself, begging the question, is it worth your time?
As will nearly all experimental, there is an ever-present element of “because we can” on this record; it springs forth particularly on tracks “II” and “V” where the “With Voice” portion of With Voices is almost distractingly prevalent. The whispers from children on “V” is deeply unsettling, vastly more so than the menacing bursts of static that wash over the track in calculated patterns. Much of the record is unable to find its footing. Nothing is particularly offensive, but there’s an ever-present sense that something better is coming soon, and nothing ever appears. Instead, With Voices is content to be just another meandering ambient record, though perhaps with a few more flourishes than is typical of the genre. Luckily, there is at least one shining moment to latch onto. “IV” is a genuinely haunting track that bolsters the album significantly and would make an excellent background to a reading session of House of Leaves or the latest Stephen King novel.
So as to the question posed in the introduction: the album isn’t anything particularly special. If you are a fan of ambient (or such a huge fan of Swans that the brief moment that sounds like them on “V” is enough to get you into a record) then it’s perfect background music that will pull your attention toward it every so often. Yet if you are just a music fan looking for something, there’s nothing that With Voices does that isn’t done elsewhere. It sounds perfectly pretty when it’s on, but the minute it turns off it’s like nothing ever happened.
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