Geweih Ritual Documents just have signed another worthy artist, Brooklyn-based Dana Schechter, also known as Insect Ark. Her latest 10″ arrives on the heels of a two-track 7″, but while that record held a vocal track, the new release is entirely instrumental. Although Schechter’s voice is sultry and alluring in a Sioxsie Sioux fashion, we’re glad she’s chosen this route. Billed as “one woman, a sampler, a bass, a lapsteel and a keyboard”, Insect Ark impresses by doing it all herself, although she’s better known as a bassist (Angels of Light, American Music Club, and many more, plus her own band Bee and Flower).
The three songs included on Long Arms are full and deep, sounding like a modern version of The Breeders or even Curve. “Lift Off” has a slow, even danceable appeal, the result of a recurring bassline and rhythmic drums. In one sense, it’s far too short at 3:49; in another, it’s a perfect single. The fuzzier and far more ponderous “Symbols” begins so quietly it’s hard to notice, but ends in such cacophony that it could be a lost work from The Swans. 40 BPM is typically Earth territory, but Insect Ark’s more active brand of sludge makes a different declaration. But the title track is the main draw. It begins with forlorn stretches of sound like desert highways, then adds feedback like passing cars. When drums and bass join in, the track becomes like a calm cruise in a thunderstorm, windows down, passengers oblivious to the falling rain. Bring on the album. (Richard Allen)
Insect Ark – “Long Arms” (Official Video) from Chris Carlone on Vimeo.
a closer listen 