A Closer Listen
Summer is near, bringing the roar of lawnmowers, drowning the dawn chorus. From push mowers to ride-a-mowers to massive multi-blade vehicles, the sounds are inescapable. While many wear headsets (tacitly admitting that they are contributing to noise pollution), others prefer the ambient drone. Sage Martens (Matthew Sage & Lieven Martens) have found a way to corral this sound into music.
The amusing liner notes are a reminder that fresh-cut lawns are an unnatural thing inherited from the Brits, who were inspired by gazing at Italian paintings. The Americans “supercharged” the activity with fertilizers and weedkillers that often polluted the water supply. (As an aside, my neighbor, who has an abnormally bright, chemically-treated lawn, has been watering and mowing since March while my own grass has remained depressingly brown.)
So perhaps we need a new symphony. The title track begins with preparations for lawn mowing, the rustle and clutter, soft enough to discern birdsong; and then the motor fires up. Remarkably, Sage Martens finds harmonies, softening the intrusive nature of the rumble. Hints of brass enter, implying an orchestra; then repeatedly, the mower sputters out. These moments highlight the contrast between the bucolic and the disruptive; but at the same time, one begins to hear the mower as an instrument in its own right, the stops and starts only part of the performance.
Two brief pieces highlight the appeal (or lack thereof) of different mowers: the Snapper Riding Mower and the Fiskars StaySharp Reel Mower. The first dominates the sonic field, although the volume dips in and out as the motor struggles to maintain an even keel. The second represents an ecological alternative that requires more human power while using less punishing sorts of energy. There’s also a difference in price: $2000 or more. In the album’s centerpiece, “The Scent of freshly mown Grass, historical lament,” Sage Martens offers a modern mechanical ode, allowing notes to be shaved and abraded like cut grass while mowers move around them. In this piece the music is more prominent than the mowing, underlining the emotional connection. Yankee Candle once offered a scent called Fresh Grass: nostalgia in a jar; the duo does the same in sound.
“Song between the Blades” blends these experiences like mulch. The volume is balanced, the motor sounding at first like bicycle wheels. Electronic clusters dance around the lawn, daring the blades to cut them down. The integration mirrors that of the mind, which after so many years may become able to tune out the sounds, in the same way as city dwellers become acclimated to horns and construction. In this piece, the lawn mower becomes an instrument of beauty rather than an unwanted guest. Highlighting the insidious appeal of the unnatural practice, “Song between the Blades” even makes one want to mow one’s own yard, just to hear the sound. (Richard Allen)
Wed May 21 00:01:36 GMT 2025