Continuing much of the instrumental, musically dense partnership of Loren Connors and
Suzanne Langille in the 80s and 90s, Crucible stands out as a clear highlight in the pair's
musical partnership, despite the music not featuring the pair performing together. Full of
Connor's beautifully droning walls of sound, and Langille deconstructive approach to
Americana melodicism, Crucible is getting a vinyl reissue on Carbon Records.
Loren Connors, with multiple decades worth of projects, needs no introduction. One of
the forefathers of American free improvisation, Loren Connors sits on the throne among
the ranks of other talented improvisers, such as Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis (whom he
has released a tribute album for), and a major inspiration in much of his work, Derek
Bailey.
Full of heavy, crushing solo-guitar work, much of Connors output here feels very
appropriate to the era, with tracks like First Light perfectly capturing his ambient, yet
incredibly light and minimalistic guitar work. Don't get it twisted here though, Connor's
melodies, while soft and delicate, are figures calling for especially deep listening, as seen
through songs like Pipe Dream and Single Heart , where the thoughtfulness of his
playing adds volumes to the waterfalls of texture beneath. The duo instrumental works
also demonstrate his restrained yet expansive approach; the piece O'Donnells Camp
feeling almost like a post rock interpretation of some Spanish-Style duet in A minor.
Additionally, poet-vocalist Suzanne Langille's solo pieces perfectly align with the
album's guitar-centric tracks, blending American songbook and folk influences in Crying
Low. While the more artful Morning Doubt is about the frustration in trying to achieve
honesty and individual truth, with so many forces influencing us in how we show
ourselves. Dimstar was penned during Loren's diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease.
Leading up to the diagnosis, there was the possibility that Loren had a different, and
terminal disease. This song is Suzanne reaching out to Loren, calling him back from the
edge of sanity. "Don't get lost in the light. You never know when you shut your eyes, but
sleep took us to dawn again, hold and be held again."
Crucible is a must listen for any avid listener of Loren Connors and Suzanne Langille,
and should be considered required listening for anyone trying to make the plunge deeper
into experimentalism of any genre of music.
Carbon Records, 2025