By Nick Ostrum
If one can judge by releases and coverage (mainly in the DMG newsletter), Robert Dick seems to have hit a late career renaissance. My first exposure to him was 2021’s Structures of Unreason in a rare flutes-guitars-electronics duo with Nicola Hein. Then, I stumbled upon his 2024 duo with harpist Stephan Haluska, Crop Circles,which was the under-recognized gem of the year, as far as I am concerned. After those,I had to pick up this latest outing. On it, Dick (various flutes including his own Glissando Headjoint flute) and Haluska (prepared harp) are joined by bassist Jason Ilgenfritz for seven cuts of free and unconventional chamber music.
Time Wants a Skeleton is a scratchy and breathy affair. Ilgenfritz and Haluska torque and rattle their instruments while Dick cuts his way through the stringed thicket with heaves and flutters. The rattles continue, though more idiomatic sounds – pizzicato and arco – cut in and out. Stasis, however, is never attained and the music remains rough and unstable. Sunbathing with Jonah, the second track, begins sparsely with unintelligible ogre grunts scatting dances atop bass drones. This leads into the titular piece, which is also by far the longest, at over 11 minutes. Whisps of dirges entangle with deep bass tones and what sounds like an insistent mouth harp. It all unfolds so slowly, though a third in, Dick takes over with a spirited section of trills and other quivering sounds that seem to invigorate Haluska and Ilgenfritz, pushing them into a more traditional propulsive war, albeit sans rhythm. By the end, however, the musicians have caught themselves and opened even more space in the piece, and it tumbles to its conclusion, like music box slowing due to declining torque, only for someone to turn the crank a couple more times to bring the piece buzzing towards its end.
The rest of the album proceeds with similar variation. Slow Splash is heavy on the flute, and sounds like a modern etude, laying lines of drone and hum in various layers and for various durations, with a series of spare, then increasingly frequent plucks mimicking the patter of a slow drizzle. How Do You Can It To Deny relies more on moody strings for atmosphere with flute whispers atop it. The Memory You Need starts quietly, but picks up into a series of chime rattles, nervous strings, and aerophonic swoops and sirens that evoke the dark psychological tension and strangeness of a Hitchcock film. The final cut, Not Only In The Dry Of The Century But Also On Normal Days, displays a similar moodiness, but with a more central role delegated to Haluska’s than Ilgenfritz’s strings. That is, until the end when the later makes a striking appearance with a heavy and prolonged thrum that seems to drag the piece to the final bar. This track also sticks out because it is the first and maybe only to stumble upon a sustained direction (in a loose harp leitmotif and tempo about halfway through), which it follows through to the final bars.
All in all, Time Wants a Skeleton is a stellar release. It is earthy (all sounds are acoustic) and ethereal, which seems fitting given the sci-fi origins of the title and the slight weirdness of every moment. It shows phenomenal responsivity that speaks to some organic connection among the members of the trio, who seem to move together in waves rather than by cues. And, within that, it still proudly wears a close-miked grit and graininess that keeps it grounded. This sounds like I am listening to the performance in a bar – minus the distractive ambience that implies – and that raw intimacy only adds to the effect.
Time Wants a Skeleton is available as a cassette and download
through Bandcamp:
.
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