This brand new project is the collaboration between Toronto-based producer Joanne Pollock and abrasive breakcore overlord Aaron Funk, a.k.a. Venetian Snares. While the LP does sound more Pollock than Funk, it's still miles away from either artist's usual stomping ground.
Recorded at Funk's home in Winnipeg, mostly during the wee hours, Poemss possesses a distinct dream-like feel. Whether it surfaces in the xylophonic lullaby of "Bedtime" or the lyrical tranquility of "Moviescapes," the album is laced with slumberous tendencies.
It's not surprising that Poemss features Pollock's vocals, but it is certainly unexpected hear to Funk's voice, which unfortunately fails to contribute any real weight to the record but does add to its across-the-board trippiness. In fact, the whole album is like the soundtrack to a naive hero's hallucinogenic odyssey: after battling with the four-eyed cats and sleepy leviathans, our protagonist encounters the "Gentle Mirror" to help along the passage toward the final conflict in the "Hall of Faces" before reaching salvation at "Think of Something Beautiful." Poemss plays like a journey, musically, but it's a journey of discovery and boundaries as the two differing producers find their common ground, a process you can hear throughout the album.
(Planet Mu)It's not surprising that Poemss features Pollock's vocals, but it is certainly unexpected hear to Funk's voice, which unfortunately fails to contribute any real weight to the record but does add to its across-the-board trippiness. In fact, the whole album is like the soundtrack to a naive hero's hallucinogenic odyssey: after battling with the four-eyed cats and sleepy leviathans, our protagonist encounters the "Gentle Mirror" to help along the passage toward the final conflict in the "Hall of Faces" before reaching salvation at "Think of Something Beautiful." Poemss plays like a journey, musically, but it's a journey of discovery and boundaries as the two differing producers find their common ground, a process you can hear throughout the album.
