Speak Words Speak - Edge Of The Abyss (On Life Support)

Hear The Track Here

Larry Ludwick, stalwart provider of Soundclick's Critics Corner monthly competition (with a REAL prize) is, in the modern parlance, a fearless mofo. I know he's a fearless mofo because I've had to review his music for a while and this is one musician who wants to share it all - the good and the bad. It is absolutely no surprise to me that he also teamed up with fellow gloomy gus Jon Bushaway in several collaborations - they both have a very bleak, and often very dark view of this thing we laughingly call life. Personally, I like musicians who stretch the envelope, regardless of their lyrical point, and I have had many long years of battling off the various depressions Jon Bushaway has thrown my way. I like these musicians because when their music is at it's starkest/darkest it has an eerie beauty about it I find fascinating.

Speak Words Speak is a side project for Larry, focusing on his spoken and/or weird side and the last track I reviewed - Out Of Love (November 2010) - was a song whose lyrics came from Jon Bushaway, and Larry provided a great musical platform for what he does best. Not surprisingly it got him a Must Have and a Track Of The Year and that's something that probably won't make him smile either. But hey, life rolls on, innit? 'The Abyss is not a place of joy' he gleefully says in the only lyric of the track, and if that doesn't give you the tenor of what I have been saying, then don't blame me for subjecting you to it.

The central tension of both Larry's and Jon Bushaway's work is that dark, almost bitter vision allied with some of the prettiest sounds and textures you are likely to hear. So as much as I feel the anxiety and edginess they stir up in your brain, the music makes it somewhat easier to take. It's always been the saving grace for Mr Bushaway, and Larry is following in that fine tradition. Certainly not as experimental as you might expect and, surprise surprise, quite an easy listen - especially of you are looking for a good soundscape with the merest hint of vocals.

Highly Recommended Experimental electronica.