Floor Overhead – ‘Uses For Pavement’
‘Uses For Pavement’ received its release on Whitelabrecs towards the end of June. Brooklyn-based Andrew Farwell makes use of processed and re-purposed guitar recordings that were once discarded. Such recycling of recorded sounds often delivers pleasing results, as imperfection rarely adheres to typical musicality; it brings the unexpected and unconventional into a new and desirable light. The album’s second track, ‘Gravity and Resignation’, builds a murky drone before clashing melodies enter. The listener is offered a musical experience that does not necessarily make sense, nor does it have to. It is the contrasting nature of the source material that creates competition within the musical arrangement that is abstract and playful in disagreement. Floor Overhead is welcomed with familiarity, as Whitelabrecs often brings light to the unintended and leftover recordings that are arguably more interesting than recorded music with more original intent. ‘Permanent Abrasion’, the album’s third, is my choice of standout track; its seemingly endless repetition is matched with infinite augmentation that allows nine minutes and forty-four seconds to pass without the listener tiring. The album draws to a close with ‘Comfort’. The final track is initially darker than the rest, with distant tones modulating atop of gentle static reminiscent of Isolationism. ‘Comfort’ then opens to include a wider tonal range, including what would appear to be the crackles of a peaked recording or overly driven speaker cabinet. This distorted element, wherever it may originate from, departs the reverb-drenched drones to provide a textural escape. The closing track seems more thought out in terms of arrangement, with two distinct passages that bring variation to the longer playing piece.
‘Uses For Pavement’ is available on Whitelabrecs in limited physical supply. Like many of the label’s musical outlets, I am grateful for the attention brought to Floor Overhead, who shows a dedication to the craft of production that must not be overlooked.
