Like 2010's respectable smattering of exploits, Sean McCann has had himself another sensationally productive year. Alongside well-deserved reissues, a CD-R on his own Recital label, and cassettes galore, McCann unleashed two proper albums this year, his latest being Sincere World. In retrospect, these past few months have been home to his finest material yet, and none have clung to my memory more tightly than The Capital has-- a questionable declaration to make considering the rivaling quality of each subsequent production.
The prevalence of musical anachronism is majorly conveyed in the case of yesteryear's styles presented by modern-day artists; Sean McCann employs orchestral and reinforced electronics into a single realm, a majestic amalgamation of antique and current humanity. Comparably Ravedeath, The Capital blossoms lustily with euphonic catharsis to a nearly violent breadth. Elegance remains salient, though, even at the album's most sonorous.
Wistful strings rest suspended in air on "The Vanilla Maiden" imbued with glints of synthesizer and scrambled clamor. The anomalous "Unfolding Angels" is beset with unsettling croaks underpinned by stifled murmurs. Not only serving as a nearly aharmonic prelude to the fervid "Star Charge", the piece is fascinatingly elusive in solitary view, neither taking shape of a fantasy nor nightmare. Something so intangible may seem ill-suited alongside the reflective melodies constituting most of the album, yet it performs as an ideally nebulous intermission.
Just as pensively thought out as his compositional approach is McCann's sense of sequencing. Following the dramatic apex of "Star Charge" are slowly plucked strings and stumbling vibrations, like the debris left after a joyous gala, sweeping across an emptied locale. Anxiety evanesces before a warm hush. And if The Capital's ambition didn't seem staggering enough, it's accompanied by the Sky Is Filled With Incredible Wishes cassette which lies on the precipices of a companion piece and a collection of bonus opuses. Regardless of its peripheral's significance, The Capital stands as a breathtaking effort that stands out not only amongst others in the McCann archive but within the boundless world of outer sound.
[Sean McCann Discogs]
[Buy The Capital from Aguirre Records]
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