Bill Orcutt - The Anxiety Of Symmetry LP

Bill Orcutt’s name is regularly invoked around these parts for his guitar slinging solo, in collaboration with the likes of Corsano or Amba, or in the legendary Harry Pussy, but this is the first chance I’ve had to dip into his albums composed using his own open sourced Cracked software.

One of a trilogy of “counting” albums, Anxiety Of Symmetry samples women’s voices counting in a manner that corresponds to the first six notes of a major scale. In the vein of minimalist classics (thinking Reich especially), in looping, slowing, and layering these phrases, Orcutt creates a complex and hypnotic web of melodic and rhythmic interference patterns, but one that also nods to ‘Just Right’ fixations with ordering and re-ordering.

A real mind-bender to listen to while counting the til this morning, but when it comes to Anxiety of Symmetry, I’m down for the count… in the positive!

-Mitch