Latitude 49 - Wax and Wire - First usage of the word “chambercore” I’ve come across, and it’s totally appropriate (track 5) (New Amsterdam Records)
Cross-continental new music powerhouse Latitude 49 returns with flair and passion on their sophomore release Wax and Wire. This dynamic collection takes the listener on a genre-bending journey, careening wildly from the visceral to the sublime. From the psychedelic pulsations of Gabriella Smith’s Number Nine (an homage to the Beatles’ “Revolution 9”) flows Viet Cuong’s whimsical showpiece Wax and Wire, establishing the record’s charisma and variety right away. Ruminant works by Annika Socolofsky and Chris Sies direct us inward: Socolofsky’s a sense of who challenges us to consider ourselves in light of the communities we inhabit, while these (were) used to harm by Latitude 49’s own Chris Sies employs effects inspired by specific songs that have been used as means of torture against a sometimes thrashing chambercore background. Two works by Sarah Kirkland Snider provide the record’s most intimate moments, with the swirling trio Thread and Fray unfurling tightly-knit textures while the cleansing, haunting, but ultimately hopeful You Are Free closes out the record in a state of utter contemplation.
Composers and works: GABRIELLA SMITH Number Nine 2013 VIET CUONG Wax and Wire 2014, 2016 SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER Thread and Fray 2006 ANNIKA SOCOLOFSKY a sense of who 2015, 2016 CHRIS SIES these (were) used to harm 2017 SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER You Are Free 2015 Performers: Latitude 49 Max Geissler, Cello Andy Hall, Saxophones Andy Hudson, Clarinets Jani Parsons, Piano Chris Sies, Percussion and Electronics Timothy Steeves, Violin and Viola (on track 3) Track 4 features the voice of Evan Chambers, recorded by Annika Socolofsky in Ann Arbor, Michigan
