With 2013’s Corps Exquis, composer Daniel Wohl offered a set of concise, punchy pieces joining glitchy electronic verve with traditional chamber music lyricism. At some points, the digital manipulations were identifiable as processed versions of parts being played by the musicians, and at others, they operated independently of each other. In the best moments, you couldn’t tell what was live and what was pre-programmed.
On his follow-up, Wohl includes a pair of two-movement works that show how suited he is to larger canvases. A slowly moving, two-note drone launches "Replicate, Pt. 1," and operates in the background throughout, while the live musicians work with pitched percussion figures that build on themselves slowly. Brisk electronic beats introduce the piece’s second half—though the composition never scales the frenetic peaks of Corps Exquis.
This comparative restraint pays off when a gorgeous vibraphone ostinato emerges in the closing minutes of "Replicate, Pt. 2." Wohl playfully manipulates the groove, letting the tempo quicken and slack unpredictably. "Holographic," another piece that stretches across two tracks, also builds its momentum in a natural, relaxed fashion, underlining the subtler chops of the musicians who make up the often-clangorous Bang on Can All-Stars group.
The album’s initially deliberate, patient air ensures that its hyperactive set piece registers strongly. With an evident love for unusual, junkyard sonorities and febrile rhythm, "Progression" brings the maverick sound of mid-century American composer Harry Partch into the electro-classical present day. And its tightly interwoven writing for strings and percussion also suggests that Wohl could compose just fine in purely acoustic settings if he wanted.
In between these pieces are a few items that sound slight next to the more ambitious material. It’s not difficult to imagine how the singers who show up for "Source"—Olga Bell and Pulitzer-prize winner (and Kanye West collaborator) Caroline Shaw—might inspire Wohl, though the meeting winds up sounding merely pleasant. Elsewhere, the Mivos Quartet—the same group who pairs up so winningly with Mantra Percussion on "Progression"—have much less to do during "Formless." Still, the electro-acoustic balance on these tracks is expertly handled. It just happens to be the case that this notoriously hard-to-perfect blend might not be Wohl’s greatest talent, after all.
