Risil – Non Meters Volume 1 – Important [Album review]

Thing is, the guy makes it so easy. He pops up in the record store almost as much as Merzbow. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he were stalking me.

Risil isn’t chiefly Hill’s project, of course, it’s Guillermo Herren’s (Prefuse 73, Savath & Savalas), and there are so many other participants (Tyondai Braxton, John McEntire, Alejandra Deheza of School Of Seven Bells, and more) it’s ridiculous to start the review by mentioning Hill’s name.

But there Hill is, in the middle of this beautiful one-off (or in the case of this particular project, three-off), acting like he isn’t the best chooser of projects since Michael Gira. Here, he’s chosen another winner, a free-for-all collective-type deal wherein several musicians convene with no set intentions.

Apparently 50-or-so songs were forged, and now they’re being unleashed on the public like a rippin’ Hella/Hill drum solo … AGFAHALGTPPPT-

There I go again! Don’t listen to me because double-LP Non Meters Volume 1 only bears Hill’s visible stamp on a few occasions. You can tell Herren is generally leading the troops here. Of all the big-name cops setting up shop on his block, he slaps down the most citations and brings in the most collars.

This is anyone’s game, however. While tunes like “Start Slow” are marked by a major P-73/S&S influence, there are so many ingredients being tossed around you start to lose track. In fact, courtesy of the gorgeous jacket I know there are field recordings and diverse instrumentation.

No trumpets or T-bones, mind you. Chosen instead are softer wares such as flute and cello. Don’t you never mind if you don’t like the first, second or even third tracks, either; Non Meters Volume 1 is in a constant state of fluctuation, a sort of war with itself during which it can’t commit to a set strategy for more than a battle.

That’s what I like about it. I like getting warm, alive pieces that veer toward the bubblified no-vox boom-bip-hop of Herren then being flogged to death by an avalanche of percussion, whether conjured up by Hill’s drumset (via “Implicate” on Side C) or pawnshop woodblocks.

Risil might even be the perfect group situation for Hill, who often carries most of the weight in his projects. Here, blessed with an embarrassment of indie-rock riches, he gets to truly be part of an ensemble, and though I don’t know what he’s doing when he’s not getting his tom-bass-tom triplet on, I do know he’s in there somewhere on woodblock-bangers like “We Were Ruined Before We Started,” helping out.

As is the previously mentioned McEntire, not exactly a slouch himself. And Braxton. And Deheza. Hell, it’s dizzying to think of how many shit-hot-grade albums have emanated from this after-school-club over the years. (It’s fun to play guess-that-artist. For instance, are the weirdo percussive “ping”s of “Zantra” coming from an organic Braxton instrument or a Herren sample or one of Jennipa Sola Han’s field recordings? Only time will tell …)

You can hear that experience on the wax, too. Ricil’s hastily written tunes would never possess the luster they do without years of gigging — not to mention crate-digging — behind them. As such the listener is treated to a unique, fortuitous melding of skill and savvy, and not only that, it holds together better than most all-star collabs, even over two never-half-steppin’ LPs!

The only drawback is that, like the El Groupo Nuevo album Hill plays on, I have to wait an undisclosed amount of time to hear the second and third installments. I want them now, you fuckholes!! Cut a guy a break …

Oh well. Until I post again in three or four hours keep yr shrt on. [Buy Non Meters Volume 1 and hear free MP3s at the Important Records site.]