By Deuce

Running through Montresor’s Autopoiesis, an 8-cut LP that first made its rounds with a  spring release, is like listening to a story. Only thing is, there’s no words, or narration, or verbal communication.

But, the producer and musician more than makes up for that fact with his instrumentation.

This tendency of the artist is epitomized on “Farmland”, which very well may be the magnum opus on the effort. Granted, it’s not the longest track (“Bildungrosman” is nearly 30 seconds longer). And, there are others with more ambitious titles, such as “Pyramid” and “The Fallen City”.

But the tune carefully crafts a plot, a story line, almost better than all the others on this affair.

There’s a little bit of everything on this one. There’s what almost certainly sounds like a choice piano sample that kicks things off. And, as is par for the course on this outing, Montresor backs it with a busy pattern, typified a by a crisp pace and surfeit of rolls on the snare. It’s a complete track moving in a certain direction when the rhythm guitar comes on, peppy and energetic.

But then, Montresor displays a penchant for abandoning the groove altogether, choosing instead to throw in a cacophony of what could be live drumming and a cascade of pianos in a different key, pitch, and feel. It’s a sharp turn in the plot, the introduction of a new character or the demise of an established one. And then, he follows things up by taking up the narration in a different trajectory, sometimes with one of the best bass lines (courtesy of an electric bass that sounds synthesized) on the project, or with his super smooth woodwinds (which also sounds like they’re on a synthesizer).

The lack of vocals on this tune is typical of that of the album. It showcases the artist’s ability to communicate sans words and still deliver lush descriptions and, as previously mentioned, a tale worth listening to for the better part of 10 minutes.

The same applies to “Vanishing Fog”, the opening number—all save for the 10 minute part, which is replaced by occupying your attention for the better part of five minutes. Montresor relies on many of the same instruments (except the piano), particularly his proclivity for throwing in drum rolls and eliciting wiry, thin guitars that make for a blur of motion and energy.

That can also be said for much of the rest of the album.