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Phillip Golub — Loop 8/9
(Bandcamp Greyfade 013, 2026, CD / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2026-11-03

Loop 8/9 Cover art

There is a difference between inviting a listener into a musical world and merely opening the door. Loop 8/9 finds pianist and composer Phillip Golub standing comfortably inside a universe of microtonal relationships, just intonation, resonance, and infinitesimal variation. The problem is that the rest of us are left standing at the threshold. Golub's latest installment in his ongoing loop-based series consists of two extended pieces, each built from a distinct tuning system and performed with what the accompanying notes describe as a quartet of retuned piano, vibraphone, electric guitar, and electronics. Yet for most of the album, those distinctions remain more apparent in concept than in practice. What reaches the ear is largely a slow-moving succession of piano figures circling through the same territory again and again. “Loop 8” unfolds over 21 minutes at an almost unwavering tempo and dynamic level. Notes repeat. Small variations occur. Occasionally a bass note appears, briefly suggesting a new direction before the piece settles back into its familiar orbit. The experience is less like following a composition than watching a pianist sit down, discover an appealing pattern, turn on a recorder, and become so absorbed in the sound that twenty minutes pass unnoticed. To be fair, the music is not static. Golub is clearly exploring something. The problem is that the changes occur at such a microscopic level that they gradually lose their ability to register as meaningful events. There are microvariations in timing, resonance, and tuning, but over time they become nearly indistinguishable from the loop itself. The irony is that constant variation ultimately creates an impression of sameness. “Loop 9” introduces more dissonance and internal friction. Notes occasionally seem to trip over one another, and there is somewhat greater rhythmic flexibility through scattered triplets and altered groupings. Yet despite the rougher harmonic landscape, the overall effect remains much the same. There are changes, but no forward movement. The music seems permanently stuck in the present tense. As I listened, an unexpected metaphor came to mind: sensory deprivation. By restricting changes in tempo, dynamics, texture, and register, Golub creates a listening environment in which the smallest musical event acquires exaggerated significance. For some listeners, that may prove meditative or even transcendent. For me, it raised a more fundamental question: Why? Golub may be fascinated by the microtonalities and microvariations generated by his tuning systems. He may hear endless discoveries within these loops. Unfortunately, that fascination proves difficult to share. The composer appears fully immersed in this sonic universe, while the listener remains outside looking in. After forty-plus minutes, I understood what Golub was doing, but I was never convinced why I should spend forty-plus minutes listening to it. In the end, Loop 8/9 certainly meets the definition of sound events occurring in time and space. Whether it succeeds as a compelling musical journey depends on whether one finds Golub's private exploration worth crossing the threshold for. I never quite made it inside.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Phillip Golub

More info
http://phillipgolub.bandcamp.com/album/loop-8-9

 

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