KJOSTAD / LIGATURE – Overgrown LP

Kjostad has witnessed massive growth since the debut “Wolf Knoll Road” of 2014. No, somehow his Breaking The Will persona does not rear it’s maniacal head, although you might hear some heavy breathing beneath the mire. This recording, instead, has as much indebted to love as it does rage. Question and answer without finality. The birds still chatter as the society shatters… Something often lost in the era of new American noise/experimental is the capacity to conjure long-form tracks that feel whole and cohesive. Look no further you supplicant! There is a certain poignant brevity that is specific to Stefan’s work and it inarguably shows itself within this LP.

Ligature has steadily and excitedly evolved over its few short moments of existence. Influences have been shorn off and the project, as well, exists in a private-but-exposed place. Elements of spoken-word, heavier use of field recordings, and contemplative moods run rampant on these three tracks. Just like Kjostad, there’s a bare intimacy running through the entire recording, even in moments that may seem to have a function of stirring up the listener’s concentration. Hazy, periodically adrenalized, lingering on after the moment itself.

A combined effort that is incredibly fitting; both engaging in similar but completely disparate approaches, both shining bright in the externalizing of deeper mental recesses. Is it time for year-end lists yet? (Description by Trevor Brubaker / Eyestrain Magazine)