Crystal Machete
2016
Edison Sound Records
I can say many things about myself. One I cannot is that I am a fan of Wes Borland. The man's political zealotry, as well as his borderline vitriolic sense of superiority over those who disagree with his opinions don't ring with me. Not to mention Borland is a member of famously infamous rap-metal band Limp Bizkit, which doesn't necessarily aid my disdain towards him. I've made a point to avoid his words and thoughts for awhile now, more or less in order to stop the ravenous headaches that often ensue upon coming into contact. I recently surfaced following the cataclysmic event of the United States' 2017 presidential election to discover good 'ol Wes had come out with some studio material. I decided to take a peak.
I'll admit I can man-up when the time comes to disassociate someone's work from their person, though it can be argued that the two are one in the same. If that's the case, then it appears that the post-rock ambling of 2016's Crystal Machete is in fact the musical representation of Wes Borland. And if that's the case, then I guess I don't mind the guy.
It's honestly a bit staggering seeing the transition Borland took from Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns, Big Dumb Face, etc. to the solo studio. What we have here is not a Borland who's going all-out attack mode, but a more conceded version of himself. And when I say Borland, I mean only Borland. The album is completely instrumental with all songs being written and performed by himself. Crystal Machete was a bit of an isolationist project as Borland reasoned with himself to accept "as little outside help as possible." You could reason that this is Borland's early-peaking opus, which is possible. Borland himself has stated in the past that he doesn't exactly listen to the kind of music Limp Bizkit plays, so this may be an example of what he does listen to.
The sound of Crystal Machete is glittery, smooth, and as the title suggests, interesting. Speaking of the title, it is actually a good indicator of what's in store on the record; the music is blunt and to the point as a machete would be, as the music, while in no means perfunctory in nature, still uses rather simplistic percussion patterns (understandable as Borland isn't a percussionist) with some other conventional guitar techniques. In order to examine the "crystal" half then we really have to look at post-rock as a genre. When you hear that genre, what do you think of? Some might think of Iceland's Sigur Rós, others the U.S.'s own Swans. If Wes Borland's album would be juxtaposed with another, the closest you might come is toe (a Japanese post/math-rock band from the 2000's). Sonically, the two are similar, as they both use glittery, sort of bouncy rhythms and vast echoing guitar tones. For Borland this sort of holds for the more ambient songs, aka 'Svallbard' or 'White Stallion'. Ergo, Crystal Machete has elements of beauty in it's sort of hidden complexity, but also in it's blunt simplicity.
Turns out this album is actually a concept album as well, being supposedly centered around being an imaginary 80's filmscore. So we have another to take into account- atmosphere, both lyrically and musically. Lyrically the album is avant-garde in nature. No human vocals are utilized throughout the project, rather something like a text-to-speech (a semi-high quality one at least) is used in more cinematic sections of the album. I myself took the album as more of a series of soundscapes that, using the right mental gymnastics, could be pieced together, however loosely. On it's own these voice sections seem more included to instill a façade that the album is in fact a concept album rather than reaffirming it with concrete narrative elements. In simpler terms: the album isn't really narrative-driven, it just seems like it. Granted I could be wrong, but I suppose at the same time it's up to one's own interpretation of what an album really means, isn't it?
Next is the music. Ambiance plays a big part in filmscores, particularly when setting a stage for the plot to take place. Crystal Machete does in fact use this to it's advantage, and even with the aforementioned lack of plot does give it, at times, very extraordinary emotional weight. As the music shifts nonchalantly around you, it seems to give a sense of investment one might have while watching an actual film. I have to hand it to Borland, the man could score a filmscore, albeit likely to a film not of conventional nature. Think more Kubrick than Spielberg.
For my end credits, I give, and I can't believe I'm saying this, Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland kudos on his above-average post-rock album. I expect to hear more of this soon. Doesn't mean I like you, though.
2016 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher
Have a nice day!
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