Loula Yorke - Time is a Succession of Such Shapes

A Closer Listen

Time is a Succession of Such Shapes, declares Loula Yorke.  But what shapes?  The answers can be found within this double disc, which includes a hard copy of June’s exquisite The Book of Commonplace mixtape. Through her yearlong project of monthly releases, Yorke has been proposing that life itself is a mixtape, and we have the ability to capture its sounds and to share them with others.  No matter how common or mundane these sounds may be – for example, the advertisment that follows the cassette click of the album’s opening seconds – they form a sonic fabric in to which we are woven.  Whether flitting between TV stations or outdoor locales, we are entering different biophonies and anthropophonies.  Yorke dances to them, and embeds them in ambient frames.

“Let a Sound Complete Its Life!” the artist begs.  In this gorgeous slice of ambient synth, one starts to think of the implications.  The sound may be a song, or a pattern, or a sentence.  Yorke suggests that the life of the sound may be captured and extended, but that each sound has value, no matter how commonplace it may seem.  The subsequent title, “Beautiful Things in Humble Places,” says it all.  Life is a succession of such shapes, and each possesses an intrinsic beauty.  Behind the music, in the fourth minute, another small encounter is taking place, with rustle and subdued speech; a bird says hello, leading to a conversation about the Devil in the next track, replete with crackling fire.  Alternating between ambient and electronic, Yorke mirrors the moods of a year.

The title track appears in two parts, one active and sparkling, the other passive and centering. Their very contrast is a message: that life contains peak moments, but that they can’t all be peak moments, and perhaps the secret to fulfillment is to embrace the latter with an equal sense of gratitude.  Shall we reject a moment or an experience or a day because it is quiet, or common, or lacks novelty?  Again, Yorke says no.  In fact, one might posit that the excitement of part one is amplified by the placidity of part two, which wobbles at the end, like the top in “Inception.”

In “Barely Aware of the Cup in My Hands” (a Buddhist sounding title), Yorke is putting cutlery and glasses in the dishwasher, pausing when she begins to recognize their sonic properties; these tools are not just for eating!  In fact, given that another track has this title, one of them may be a “Spork.” In an adjacent manner, the track teems with sci-fi vibes, making us think it could just as easily have been titled “Spock.”  And “Sorry I Threw Away All Your Nails” is the antithesis of William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just to Say,” in which the protagonist confesses to eating a loved one’s plum.

The discs deserve to be heard in tandem, as they approach from different angles.  The first disc plucks moments from the sea of time; the second throws them back in and allows them to flow. Either way, the message is the same: there is wonder in the commonplace.  (Richard Allen)