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Reviews

Bing and Ruth — Tomorrow Was the Golden Age
(RVNG Intl. RVNGNL27, 2014, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2014-11-24

Tomorrow Was the Golden Age Cover art

Beauty can be a dangerous thing. Especially when it comes to music. The line between beautiful and sappy is a thin one, but it's fuzzy in that it's located in different places for different listeners. This set of music from New York ensemble Bing and Ruth is really beautiful in a meditative and serene way. Even the track called "Police Police Police Police Police" is lovely, with long tones on clarinet and other woodwinds backed by a constant rolling piano part arpeggiating chords and clusters. Like much of the music on Tomorrow Was the Golden Age, it's a shimmering steady state of sound — or near-steady, as it gradually shifts emphasis between notes as parts fade in and out. Other pieces follow slightly different recipes, some with slow piano chords, others with more electronics, always blended into swelling washes of sound. The personnel consists of composer David Moore on the piano joined by two clarinets, a cello, two basses, and a tape manipulator, though aside from the piano and an occasional reedy tone from a clarinet, the instruments are indistinguishable individually. There are no sudden moves, no virtuosic flourishes, just subtle contributions to a beautiful whole. Certainly not what you want to hear when driving your car, but when the setting is right, this is perfect music for drifting into blissful nothingness.

Filed under: New releases, 2014 releases

Related artist(s): Bing and Ruth

More info
http://bingruth.bandcamp.com/album/tomorrow-was-the-golden-age

 

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