Essentially the one-man-band project of Italian musician Andrea Vascellari, Firetail clearly follows a “less is more” theory of composition. A fine showcase for Vascellari’s production abilities, the group’s music is very minimalistic in nature and generally fits in well with what I might expect from the ambient music genre. 2015 compilation So Far assembles everything that Vascellari has done under the Firetail moniker (he also performs under the name of Lullabier), much of which has a noticeable post-rock quality since it plays similarly to what one hears in the background of tracks from groups like Godspeed You! Black Emperor. This album won’t appeal to mainstream tastes, but it’s very solid for what it is – a fact that probably shouldn’t have shocked me since it was Firetail who produced one of 2014’s better Christmas-themed Silber Records albums.
The by-and-large soothing So Far compilation begins with “End=Beginning,” a piece built around a pulse of yearning melody played on a twangy guitar. The pleasantly lazy strumming gurgles out of and fades away into a humming background, occasionally interrupted by a heavily echoed horn. Aptly-titled and airy followup “Floating Around” is propelled by a swirling undercurrent that almost suggests drifting along on a slowly ebbing and flowing sea. Despite again having an aching feel to its melodic elements, this second piece is very peaceful and serene before it gives way to the noticeably louder and comparably more substantial “Calculator.” To me, this third track sounds less obviously earthy than the opening pair and is perhaps more in line with the nearly mystical ambient sections found in so-called “epic rock.” Bellowing out over groaning lower tones, the melody here actually builds to something at certain times instead of just sounding nice, making this piece feel more purposeful than what was heard previously on the album.
Slightly more solemn with brief bits of guitar thrown in to add subtle accents to the droning main melody, the lackadaisical “Ajax” is agreeable enough as relaxing background tone even if nothing much happens during its ten minute running time. Meanwhile, “Narcolepsy” is the only track on the compilation that was previously unreleased and (perhaps unsurprisingly, given the title) the only one that’s genuinely unsettling to listen to. Abruptly stopping and starting throughout, the piece contains a unnerving mixture of found sound (car alarms, distant children playing, cawing birds) and shrill, grinding and whirring industrial-like noise, effectively capturing the semi-conscious state that would exist in people with the titular medical condition. Despite unleashing a sense of quiet despair, it finishes with an almost hopeful conclusion which ensures it fits in context with the rest of the album. Penultimate number “The Forest Album by Alan Sparhawk,” with its layers of echoed, gentle guitar, is more clearly musical than most everything else here and the album concludes with the experimental sound art of “Little Droner Boy.”
As might be obvious, Firetail’s work possesses minimal value for those who thrive on the active listening experiences that popular music provides. Even to those more familiar with minimalist composition and experimental sounds, So Far might be a love it or hate it affair. Few of the tracks here seem to really go anywhere; they more seek to create a specific atmosphere for the listener to soak up and bask in, eventually ending without much fanfare. Perhaps the best thing I could say about this work then is that it’s quite somnolent, and although that might sound condescending, it’s actually meant as a compliment. The precise way in which this completely inoffensive and frequently meditative material is constructed makes the whole of the album very dreamlike and surreal, even if I don’t think I could quite put it on the same level as something like Popul Vuh. Regardless, I found myself enjoying So Far and I suspect open-minded listeners would, at the very least, not mind listening to it. (BandJack)
La tracklist di “So Far” è infatti costituita dalla sommatoria dei tre Ep pubblicati nel corso dell’ultimo anno e mezzo, ai quali è affiancato un breve inedito e un altro brano pubblicato nella raccolta “QRD – The Guitarists”. Quel che ne risulta offre un esaustivo spaccato dello stato della ricerca di Vascellari sulle modulazioni della sua chitarra, dalla quale stillano morbidi riverberi e sature persistenze droniche.
L’ora di durata della raccolta spazia così dai tiepidi vapori dei due primi Ep ( “Learning To Cheat”, e “Learning To Waltz”, ai quali si rimanda per esteso) alle spettrali risonanze di “Little Droner Boy”, che insieme all’inedito “Narcolepsy” e a “The Forest Album By Alan Sparhawk” disegnano soundscape di pronunciata densità, che lasciano intravedere come Vascellari stia indirizzando la propria esplorazione ambient-drone verso una consistenza sempre più astratta, che tuttavia non abbandona l’immaginifica dimensione descrittiva creata al suo modo di trattare le timbriche chitarristiche. (Music won't save you)
Ora solo, il musicista proviene dalle narcosi strumentali dei Lullabier, band slow-core che proprio in Low, Codeine ed altri ha ispirato il downtempo necessario alle distensioni della propria musica, così Andrea porta in se, in Firetail, quel brumoso distendere d’arti che ha il potere di divenire marea in crescita, luna in crescita, sogno in divenire: tutto il sound di “So Far”, antologia di una carriera che vede il primo brano esposto e composto nel 2013 (la release fu “Silber”) e da quella release alla successiva “Trembl”, nasce la stesura, la raccolta delle sette tracce del file rilasciato da VeniVersus, speculo nel silenzio o nei testi non italici della ViVeriVive, label che conoscemmo tempo addietro in occasione di un sampler tutto, al contrario, cantato in lingua manzoniana.
Da “End = Beginning” all’outro “Little Droner Boy”, il tempo rallentato diviene frame d’autunno, di solitudine, di compostezza armonica, consapevolezza di lancette che proseguono il loro cammino non ascoltate, tic-tac d’orologio mal gradito ed accantonato, musica per chakra in attesa, sospensioni nemmeno troppo cromatiche, piuttosto percettive.
Slow-core dell’esistere più che del concepire, questo è il messaggio (che io capto, che voi non so quale capterete, ma l’invito è di andare oltre il suono) che Firetail diluisce nelle lunghe (a volte nemmeno troppo in chiave ambient) suite di “So Far”.
E ciò lo rende così vicino… (Sounds behind the corner)
Somber in tone is the glacial pacing of “End=Beginning”. Reminiscent of Stars of the Lid’s early rock-orientated work the song shines with regal beauty. “Floating Around” hovers about with great physical power. Oddly mournful is the saddened hues of “Calculator” with a careful sound that seems to be exploring empty bleak terrain. Nearly silent is the very quiet restrained work of “Ajax”. Merging elements of the world and of Firetail’s epic drone is the lively work of “Narcolepsy”. By far the highlight of the album is the tender work of “The Forest Album By Alan Sparhawk” whose down to earth twang does wonders. Closing things off on a tremendous note is the playfully titled baroque work of “Little Droner Boy”.
On “So Far” Firetail takes his time and it is well worth the wait. Vibrating with life and passion, these are pieces that wrap themselves around the listener giving them an entirely new world to explore. (Beach Sloth)
Den Italiener Andrea Vascellari kennt man bereits durch sein Projekt LULLABIER. Aber auch mit FIRETAIL ist er schon eine Weile aktiv – und hier geht es ausschließlich um minimalistische Töne. Gitarrendrones, Experimente mit Effekten, multiple Ambientschichten – das ist die KLANGWELT, in der sich FIRETAIL bewegt, in guter Nachbarschaft zu bekannten Namen wie AARKTICA oder den großartigen STARS OF THE LID.
“So Far” ist die Zusammenstellung seiner bisher veröffentlichten Singles und EPs “Learning To Cheat”, “Learning To Waltz” und “Little Droner Boy”, die auf Silber Records und Trembl erschienen sind. Mit einer limitierten Auflage handgefertigter CDrs werden damit auch die bisher rein digitalen Releases endlich auch in physischer Form gewürdigt.
Der Großteil der Tracks bewegt sich in harmonischem Drone Ambient, mit einer ungemein warmen Ausstrahlung – eine leichtgewichtige Atmosphäre, die zum Träumen einlädt. Zwei Ausnahmen gibt es jedoch: Da wäre zum einen das mehr als 16-minütige Stück “Little Droner Boy”, sozusagen ein Weihnachts-Drone-Track, inspiriert vom traditionellen “Carol Of The Drum”, mit eingeflochtenen Chorsamples.
Mit “Narcolepsy” begegnet uns schließlich ein bisher unveröffentlichter Track, der ungewohnt verstörende Töne anschlägt, und den harmonischen Fluß zumindest für kurze Zeit unterbricht, aber gleichzeitig auch einen interessanten Akzent setzen kann.
Insgesamt eine solide, hörenswerte Angelegenheit, bei der Drone- und Ambient-Fans gern ein Ohr riskieren sollten. (Mescaline injection)
