Jeffrey Alexander – Wayfinding Beacons from Planet to Planet
(Pome Pome Tones, 2015)
As the first contact pop reverberates outward from “Approach Lights One,” before a single note is struck, it’s clear that Wayfinding Beacons from Planet to Planet is going to be exploratory in nature. That initial ping – well, it’s hardly a ping sound,
but I’m thinking of it as some sort of sonar projection – flickers out
into the expanse with discovery on its mind. What’s out there? Why do we
need to know? Oh sonar, illuminate me!
That sense of discovery is perfectly logical given Jeffrey Alexander’s recent exploits. Alexander, who has performed in The Iditarod, Dire Wolves, Black Forest/Black Sea, and JOMF (pronounced “jawmf” – just kidding, it’s an abbreviation for Jackie O Motherfucker), continues the psychedelic/drone/sound collage experimentation he’s perfected with those groups, and thrusts it to the far reaches of the known universe. His compositions inspire awe at the star stuff flitting through my mind right now (if I had a telescope to pair with my imagination, I’d be peering through it for the full effect), the patterns and transmissions penetrating constellations and nebulae in their attempt to communicate with what’s out there. Wayfinding Beacons is as science-y an album as you’ll come across, interested mainly in getting at the stuff we don’t know about. Yet.
http://criticalmassesmedia.com/2015/06/crate-digging-jeffrey-alexander-wayfinding-beacons-from-planet-to-planet/
