Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

I can’t say I have much of an emotional attachment to the context or the story of this record, except that I’m so enamoured by Colin Stetson’s saxophone playing. I’ve touched on this in my write-up of Tim Hecker’s most recent album, but Stetson’s circular breathing techniques are something to be marvelled at. With production that sounds dry and simple but in reality is dense and meticulous (with over 20 mics used for the recording takes here), the power that Stetson gives this instrument alone is momentous, sounding cacophonous and absorbing. Rarely do you ever need any added piece of instrumentation or extra arrangement, and most of my favourite moments are the more bare bones portions. Where later Stetson releases often got brighter and more colourful, this sounds grand but daunting in comparison, with the way Stetson blows his horn on portions sounding truly eerie and almost alien. It’s unfortunately where he takes more risks where I’m less engaged with this one, like in the very rhythmic Red Horse (Judges II) or some of the spoken word moments. While I know there’s an underlying narrative to it all, this is at its most engaging when it’s stripped back to its foundations, and this is when things can get incredibly captivating.