“Shannon Smith plays some noise.” This is how the Boston artist was recently described in a home town publication, and it’s a fine place to launch a discussion. The three ten-minute tracks on Probably Not may be noisy, but they are not entirely noise. They are however playful, in the sense that they are gleeful and rambunctious: dirt piles of sound, with Smith on top playing Queen of the Mountain. “public transit” begins with electronic tapping that imitates a telegraph machine, but it develops into a sine wave, accompanied by gurgling electronic echoes. The composition boasts an apparent form, which enables it to break free of the “noise” designation.
Smith tends to build her tracks quickly, eager to get to the louder, busier sounds. This is certainly good for the excitement level, and one can understand the impulse. (In a live setting, this approach is often necessary to drown out a logorrheic crowd.) Even the (somewhat) quieter “missing the” introduces its watery anchor early. This only becomes problematic in terms of track transitions; without softer edges, the pieces bounce off each other like ball bearings. Moving the opening track to the end would smooth the flow, although “smooth” may not be what Smith intends. The closing track, “indirect costs”, is the best demonstration both of her abilities and of the power of restraint. A near-piercing pitch sets the stage for a series of liftoff drones. By the end, the piece is awash in sheets of feedback. One can imagine this selection bringing the house down, especially a house with weak rafters. It may be a playful noise, but it packs a powerful punch. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 