Inside the disc sleeve, Pimmon (aka Paul Gough) thanks several people, including Christian Fennesz. I found that citation particularly appropriate for an album that might well be subtitled "A Children's Garden of Fennesz". I mean this in a good way as Pimmon's generally charming work here has much the lush, melodic character of Fennesz' more approachable music while often injecting a sing-song-y aspect that could endear the pieces to younger ears. In fact, the recording is dedicated to his two sons.
"Secret Sleeping Birds" consists of eleven tracks, all fairly short (3-6 minutes), with electronic sounds set forth in oblique patterns, residing just this side of predictability with regard to both melodic content and rhythm, including enough bits of dirt to keep from becoming overly sterile. A track like the opening "Want to Fly Away", percolates along on a bed of bubbling electronica, iced with slightly dissonant streaks and whines, dotted with glitches. In a sense, this (as well as other cuts on the disc) is a more abstract extension of works by Eno circa "On Land"--entirely fitting in that Fennesz himself was quite influenced by the architect of the ambient--a similar dreamy throb underlying the piece but with a bit more detritus strewn along the way. The following work, "Bird Cage Circus", mutates into an oddball carnival tune, a repetitive loop like some merry-go-round gone awry, but a piece that just might catch the ear of an attentive eight-year-old. That's about as goofy as things get, most of the other cuts laying out a warm, sonic bath with steady mix of the watery and the gritty. "Amereto patido, quase branco" uses a sound source that's remarkably like the John Barry sample from "Moonraker" used on the first FennO'Berg release, something of an unexpected and pleasantly nostalgic surprise to encounter here. Otherwise, these "Secret Sleeping Birds" constitute an enjoyable selection, if not a groundbreaking one. The relative shortness of the tracks, I think, works against any deeper effect the ideas might have had, given the opportunity for more extensive exploration. Perhaps for a future disc. But Pimmon is one of a number of Australian sound sculptors (including Philip Samartzis, Will Guthrie, Michael Graeve, and Thembi Soddell among many others) who deserve far more investigation and exposure, so check him out if you can.
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