Several Erasures

"I turned on 'Several Erasures' for the first time while driving home from work fairly late one night. I was taking backroads through a small mountain town about thirty minutes away from the pub that was calling my name. As the road winded and turned, I slowly felt myself starting to smile. Plenty of people find improvised percussion soothing, but as "Clocked" tapped and rolled around in my speakers, I starting feeling an overwhelming sense of joy. It was something about whatever object is slowly, calmly, quietly rolling around Claire's snare that took me back to simpler times. I recalled a summer day sitting on the floor of my parents' house while my mom was cleaning the kitchen. Windows were open, birds were chirping. It was a beautiful day. I've had the distinct pleasure of watching Claire perform several times now. It's always a mesmerizing experience. She has an immense sense of control in regards to the drums and objects she's using. However, 'Several Erasures' is something all its own. Perhaps it's the intangible feelings in the quietness or the unmistakably organic sounds Claire produces that create such an emotional record. It's hard to put my finger on one thing or another. Each track simply works as a whole. 'Several Erasures' as a title provides a bit of context, I suppose. On the four tracks presented, there is an erasure of noise, an erasure of beings. There is simply what is placed before us. Hell, I've listened back through several times just to see if I can hear breathing. I can't. "Shadow" and "Several Erasures" (tracks 2 and 3) are a bit more unruly. Sounds start to meld, forcing a more mindful listen. The underlying vibe prolongs, however. It's the feeling that you are someone, somewhere, and things are happening all on their own. It's captivating. The album ends not entirely different from how it begins. "For Jacob" (thanks!) sounds like a storm in the spring. It rumbles and rustles, but never gets too loud or anywhere close to being sonically overwhelming; the kind of storm to stay up and listen to, hearing Newton's Three Laws of Motion as they play out around you. Look, there's a lot to interpret here. I'm just a kid who misses East Tennessee summers before climate change went and made everything unbearable and this record helps with that. It's wonderful, really. " - Jacob Watkins, Already Dead Tapes, 2019