Shedding

Louisville, KY's Shedding (aka Connor Bell) uses the overtone-rich sound of the harmonium as the core component of his drone-based six-track opus. New to Shedding's modus operandi is the use of his voice, which proves to be an apposite choice. Ringing harmonics form a pulsating cloud, with low-end, throbbing accompaniment, opening piece "Disconnect" tells the story of the protagonist's deep disillusionment with folk tale simplicity and economy, a folk tale told by Samuel Beckett, that is. The story unfolds in "Perspective," with the character declaiming, with step-after-step slow rhythm, his exhilaration at his decision to withdraw from the "human poison" into solitude. But his condition isn't so easily solved. Synths and guitar seem to indicate a floating relief, but not so fast. "Cauterize" reveals an El Topo tale-of-the-mole twist: when the character finally sees "the sun," he's blinded, destroyed. Available in a 500-copy limited run on transparent vinyl, Tear in the Sun is ambient music with teeth.