Chris Abrahams - Play Scar (Room40, 2010)

Chris Abrahams - Jelly Crown


Chris Abrahams is the pianist from The Necks. If you know The Necks, then you know how exciting a solo record from any of them is. And if you don't know The Necks then 1: get on that shit and 2: get into this shit. Play Scar is where it's at.

Abrahams' new solo outing is almost an hour's worth of gorgeous work that soars over the entire world of ambient textures. No two songs touch down in the same spot but it's all clearly rooted on one planet. The opener "There He Reclined" sets the mood with it's hazy organ & glitchy electronics, like a slow motion ocean of warmth. From there he explores the depths of minimal drone, reverbed guitar, long resonant tones, avant piano twinkling/smashing, delicate glitch, jangly bells, non-jazz, jet engine walls, static noise, echoing dub techno, fucking everything.

"Twig Blown" is the shortest track yet it's easily the most stunning. Up until that song, things have been semi-straightforward but then he drops this insane field recording glitch noise blowout with shuffling feet, squeaking balloons, and lonely piano, landing on a remote island of chaos. Of course the following track, "The Same Time," is an expansive pop-hymn-like organ piece with the curved FX pipes set to infinity. So so awesome.

The trick to listening to Play Scar is to chill the fuck out and be ready for anything. Nothing on here requires dancing or earplugs, just a healthy desire to be wowed by sounds. There is a master audio crafter at work, doing things I never would have imagined appropriate, and he makes it seem so goddamn cool. More Abrahams, please.