Video Premiere: Talking Book – Blood Aurora / Thermal Drift

So far we dedicated quite a bit of space to discussion on all things Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and (most of all) Mike Patton here on IHN. And while Patton is, undoubtedly, one of thee keepers of the flame for all things noise/weird/experimental in the early 21st century (hello hello Ipecac Recordings), he isn’t the only member of FNM with a multitude of projects to his name. Enter Billy Gould and Talking Book, his ongoing collaboration with founders of Bay AreaGigante Sound.

While not as out there as majority of Mike’s projects, TB is not the kind of thing I would immediately associate with messer Gould. Keyword that defines “Blood Aurora / Thermal Drift” is “texture” – the sound of a piano that is seemingly about to fall apart meshing (and meshing well) with epic synth washes and drops of ambient color radiating from the guitar.

The plinkety-plonk of a rickety piano in the intro whispers “David Lynch” (not just the movies, but the records too), while the video suggests Koyaanisqatsi with its endless parade of images of fields, ice glaciers people and cities. Intro aside, there’s little ominous or foreboding about “Blood Aurora / Thermal Drift” – the vibe being more Koyaanisqatsi than Lost Highway.

Talking Book is Billy Gould, Jared Blum (Beaks Plinth, Kagami, Vulcanus 68) and Dominic Cramp (Lord Tang, Evangelista). 

Video created by Estrata Productions (New Zealand) 

II by Talking Book is out on April 24 via Koolarrow Records