It’s surprising that Two Nice Catholic Boys is only the second official recording from Loren Mazzacane Connors and Jim O’Rourke. The two are heroes in the experimental/improvisational scene. And, even if you think you don’t know them, I can guarantee you’ve heard something that one of the two have worked on. This album might not quite live up to a combination of the pair’s impressive credentials, but it’s certainly an interesting recording of two musicians at the top of their game.
Composer/guitarist Jim O’Rourke has released over 15 albums on his own, plus bunches of one-shot collaborations. For those not in the improve scene, O’Rourke was also a member of Sonic Youth (from Murray Street up til’ Rather Ripped), a member of Loose Fur (with Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche), mixed Joanna Newsom’s Ys and Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and produced albums by Stereolab and Smog, among others.
Composer/guitarist Loren Connors (AKA Guitar Roberts, Loren Mattei, Loren MazzaCane) may be a little less famous, but folk fans should recognize the name, or at least the names of collaborators. Having released more than 50 albums in his 59 years on various labels, Connors has worked with outsider folk legends Jandek, John Fahey and Smog. He’s also done plenty of work with noise/drone artists including Keiji Haino, Alan Licht and Darin Gray.
Opening track “Maybe Paris” combines their strengths in one long, improvised jam. The first few breaths of the 22 minute track are thundering electric drones, with majestic lightning strike soloing falling behind them. Two thirds of the way in, Connors’ more traditional leanings take the forefront, as an expansive, pastoral folk piece rolls in out of the storm.
When it comes down to it, O’Rourke and Connors’ similar styles and histories make it impossible to tell who contributes what to this album. Both play the same instrument throughout the album, have the same impressive improvisational sensibilities and insane musical ability. In the end, though, this is more of a testament to the album’s intense unity and the pair’s experienced, knowledgeable approach to improvised music. Two musicians, each playing off the other’s strengths, blending seamlessly together into drowsy, crushing nirvana.
Improvised music can often feel more primal or natural (as its based on human interaction and understanding, not relegated to musical conventions or history), but “Two Nice Catholic Boys” takes this general feeling to an extreme. “Or Possibly Koln” comes next, and again its impossible to describe the music in anything but extremely natural terms. One guitar lies in the background making slow, sludgy waves of feedback, as the other musician skims across the top, dropping patters of electric rain over the landscape. Then, as the feedback dies away, the waves calm as well and the second guitarist’s bright, sharp slide-work rises out.
Final track “Most Definitely Not Koln” opens with a stuttered breeze of sound. The gusts of static slink along as the other musician’s feedback bends and wails like a forest full of wild animals. The album closes with, yet again, the noise falling away as a soft melody establishes itself.
The tracks do tend to be a bit similar, but making three copies of one great thing isn’t a terrible thing. When two astounding musicians like O’Rourke and Connors get together, it’s hard to complain about their intense kinship.
Check Out:
“Maybe Paris (Sample)”
“Or Possibly Köln (Sample)”
