It makes perfect sense that Chicago musician Lia Kohl called her new record Normal Sounds. The sounds here are both austere and warm, with some captured in the outside world, and many others in the studio. The ornamentation is simple, and the execution is precise. Don't call this ambient though, as there's an energy here that creeps up on you.
Lia Kohl uses cello and synth in combination with what others would call found sounds. Opener "Tennis Court Light, Snow" unfolds simply until cello interrupts and ramps up a little tension. "Car Alarm, Turn Signal" pairs Lia's cello with flute and synth from Ka Baird. The combination both mimics the sound and rhythm of a car turn signal, but also the insistence of same. "Car Horns", the only other track here with a guest musician on it, is both jazz and noise, with Patrick Shiroishi's saxophone blaring to break the serenity of the piece. It's jarring on purpose, with the melody of everyday life within it.
Normal Sounds pushes at our expectations. Lia Kohl's pieces are deceptively simple, offered as audio representations or replications of things we might hear in a city. But the selections possess a directness that makes them compelling. The concept is presented, an instrument disturbs that audio image, and further ideas are pushed around and put forward. Even on the seemingly simple "Plane", Kohl finds a way to create confict, using her cello and electronic synth sounds to punctuate the sleekness of the composition. The whole album is engaging in a similar fashion. Highly recommended.
Normal Sounds by Lia Kohl is out this week via Moon Glyph Records.
[Photo: Leah Wendzinski]