One of Earth's most promising musicians has finally received the proper formatting for his music: vinyl, and Chances Are Staying is an album that wouldn't better accompany any other format. Sean McCann really sets the bar for how far a one-man project can really go, and gives the feeling of a complete orchestra with his music. With cassette releases on just about every backyard label imaginable, Sean McCann has received recognition almost to the extent of masters such as Yellow Swans or Merzbow, and rightfully so.
Chances Are Staying begins with "Labyrinth" which I feel can best be described by these adjectives: mystical, adventurous, and monolithic. For its 17-minute length, it travels in many directions just by the key change of the orchestration, and never reaches a point of monotony; a very surreal and inviting introduction to an album. Thus we enter "County Heirlooms" which has a steady rhythm playing over layered woodwinds and strings. Every instrument seems to be playing in a different tempo however remaining in the same key, which equates to a beautifully confounding 10 minutes.
"Stasis" takes the part of the album's aberration; though too enticing to serve as an "interlude," it allows the album to take a rest and gives evidence that Sean McCann was focused on making a thematic album as opposed to a collection of tracks roughly recorded around the same time. The closer, "The World He Left Behind" takes the same approach as heard on "Labyrinth" and has a heavy emphasis on its keyboards' phaser effect. Though I have a pet peeve with this sound, the track perfectly closes the album with its abrupt feedback squeal that gives an aura of disorientation. Sean McCann's vinyl debut Chances Are Staying is both a masterful and ambitious work of art. Its beauty lies within its melodic drones, and its intricacies lie within its cacophony; an intelligent and epic masterpiece.
[Sean McCann Myspace]
[Buy Chances Are Staying from DNT Records]
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