Jay Gambit’s exploration of noise as a genre has steered Crowhurst down a path that has led to just about every nuance of musical possibility being intertwined into his output at some point, resulting in a discography that’s eye watering in size. ‘Incoherent American Narrative’ is born from Gambit’s doubt in his own abilities – while studying composition under Bryars’ tutelage in France, he discovered he lacked confidence in his technical knowledge and requested abstract sound files from the minimalist composer, in order to distort them and weave into new compositions and, thus, the album was created.
This opus features three gargantuan ambient and drone-based pieces, incorporating elements of live performances of Bryars’ pieces, including ‘Sinking of the Titanic’. It’s expansive, thought-provoking, and unsettling at times, and has a sense of pensiveness throughout. It couldn’t be further removed from the last couple of records that Crowhurst has released – there’s not a single moment of abrasiveness or heavy handed instrumental darkness on any of the tracks. It’s difficult to distinguish who exactly this album is intended for – it certainly seems on the surface to just be Jay testing and exploring the boundaries of his musical capabilities, with no particular audience in mind.
As the score to a sci-fi horror, this would work wonderfully, as a standalone piece of music it’s a little more complex. While highly unlikely to be an everyday listening experience for most people, if in the right mind set then ‘Incoherent American Narrative’ is an excellent album to simply just to exist alongside – if everything seems too heavy, too frantic, then shut yourself away with this record and focus on nothing but your breathing for the duration. It makes for an incredible 49 minute exploration of mindfulness, and puts you in the headspace to wipe the slate clean and carry on – perhaps this is what Gambit had in mind for Crowhurst when creating this?
(6/10 Angela Davey)
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