Pilesar - Every Blade Of Grass

Hear The Track Here

Soundclick's Mad Scientist in Chief Pilesar has brightened our lives enormously since I first came across him while reviewing Just A Turtle (September 2004) and this new year bounds off with yet more Pilesarity. What do you mean 'good grief has it been that long?' Don't you know that listening to Pilesar's music can seriously alter the properties of time? Sometimes the track seems endless, doesn't it? and sometimes it's over in seconds flat. Shovelling my through his entire collection of motley characters/personnas, I have never ceased to be amazed at the things this musican comes up with. Yeah, and get's away with would also be a fair comment. Therefore, as you can see by the usual prevarication, Pilesar, his music and his world is definitely not for the squeamish or tender of heart. These are the kind of people Pilesar's music can be fatal around, and also anyone called Colin may experience sudden panic attacks.

And then he can be surprising mellow and - lo and beholden to him - musical...

Every Blade Of Grass is one of Pilesar's easier works then, even weighing in at a comfortable two and a bit minutes and with all it's plinking and plonking even - dare I say it? - somewhat conventional. Structurally, its not something that I would have laid at the feet of this very idiosyncratic musician, but I have learned full well NEVER to take this guy at face value; there is always another story going on underneath. Not so with Every Blade Of Grass though, and believe me I've had a good nose around for it. Nope, the track is - as I say - unusually 'normal' for an artist who is only happy when people clamp their hands to their ears and scream like a girl while listening to his music. If I have a preference for a particular Pilesar style I would have to see I like his free jazz works best but hey on Planet Pilesar anything is possible - even such a fresh faced, button down track such as this.

It's very lightness could be its own undoing because - try as I might - I could come up with no other word that could aptly describe this track. I know it beats a big sacrilegious drum to be calling ANYTHING that Pilesar does as nice but curses - it IS! Pretty much the whole track is subjected to a very vigorous and stimulating plucking of just about every different instrument that could stand such treatment. In the past I have waxed long and loud about the various faults of almost ALL 'pluck sound' instruments (virtual anyway) for their distinct lack of colour and tone. Pilesar gets around this prejudice nicely playing all the percussive/plucked parts himself and although I could have done with a little more beefiness in the mixdown, what's here is more than adequate. Admittedly my initial surprise that this peice could be from Pilesar only saved it momentarily because - to be honest - this really isn't my style at all. Nonetheless, It is great to hear a nice kalimba being played on a track.

Nice? Could Pilesar be getting old?? Is this too many questionmarks?????