Reviews:

"Methodical and free at the same time, the material is a drone but in continuous movement; field recordings but with a rhythmical stamp maintaining an impressive musicality. Aaron Lennox is certainly not the first to experiment with the tie between the elements of acoustics and manipulated recordings, but with his methods of assembly, he properly orchestrates these elements to a point where the work distinguishes itself from, and also adds much, to this type of music. "Sibilance", is produced and published in a limited series from Magnanimous, an incredible label in West Virginia. During the eight movements that compose the disc, the presence of associated naturalistic samplings in combination with the acoustic arpeggios, creates a tie with nature that seems indissoluble and omnipresent. Obviously the risk here is to fall into excessive celebration of the spiritual, but in this case, you want that necessity, you want that ability. That it succeeds beyond the form is enough."

-Francesco de Figueiredo, Nero Magazine

"Sibilance" was originally a self-released affair, but has been reissued in a fancy new package with an acetate cover. Aaron Lennox is an impressive artist. He folds together a dizzying array of sounds and sources into something so cohesive that it reads like a great novel. Drones and field recordings and a mess of acoustic instruments make up the bulk of "Sibilance," but it's the manner in which Lennox carefully constructs each piece that sets this album apart.

The only way to view "Sibilance" is as a massive adventure across the globe. It's sprawling. At just over 65 minutes, Lennox covers an unimaginable amount of ground. It's only fitting, then, that the second track contains the best use of a freight train recording that I've ever heard. The way in which Lennox seamlessly melds the dense and beautiful, hazy drones from the first track into the raucous sounds of the locomotive moving over the tracks. It's like you've just been sailing through the cloudless night sky and accidentally land on a moving train.

Once you're off the train, you find yourself in the boreal forests in Canada. Romping acoustic guitars and the minimal hum of feedback keep you on your toes. Surrounded by prickly pine needles, the only thing to do is move as fast as you can. Lennox keeps pace, note after note. It's like being stuck in a massive maze.

The glacial sounds return on the fourth track as you end up further north with nothing but snow visible for miles. As the midnight sun beats down, you struggle for sustinance and warmth. Heavily manipulated and treated guitars act as bursts of energy as you slog your way to some imaginary place in the distance. If there is such a thing as an oasis in the middle of Siberia, the beginning of the title track to "Sibilance" is it. Gently plucked acoustic guitar and the sounds of singing cicadas hint at palm trees and warm fresh water ponds. It tricks you, because just on the other side is a barren landscape of red dirt and tumbleweeds. Lennox bends this track into submission, taking you down twenty different paths all at once. It's magical. Wailing electric guitars sound like whalesong while bowed acoustic guitars shriek and holler at the moon. There's so much happening within the space of 10 minutes that you can't help but be impressed. "Sibilance" is a near-perfect piece.

You've only reached the halfway point of this album by now. It can be overwhelming, but mostly it's just an all-encompassing listen. "Sibilance" will infect your every pore. Toward the end of this magnificent record, a piano drifts into the mix that sounds like it's being played underwater. It's a beautiful moment that eulogizes the journey you're about to complete. This album is dense. There are a ton of different things happening here, often all at once. Only a master could assemble something so huge into something so concise. "Sibilance" is absolutely stunning. Highly recommended.

- Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis

Thanks to Brian Turner at the mighty WFMU for turning us onto this. Sibilance is a one man ambient-drone-prepared-guitar-musique-concrete project and involves an amazing array of instrumentation and techniques. The end result is a gorgeously hypnotic, ambient soundscape of whir and hum and rumble and clatter. So nice. Here's the list of instrumentation from the man himself:

"Prepared electric guitar (using electric toothbrushes), field recordings of metal objects being scraped alongside a building at night, field recording of a train, prepared electric guitar (capo at the 12th fret, strings being played behind capo), prepared electric guitar w/delay pedal (screwdriver wedged between strings, sound is screwdriver hitting guitar body), prepared electric guitar (screwdriver used as a slide), prepared acoustic steel string guitar (various objects wedged under strings, played like a hammer dulcimer), prepared electric guitar (sounds kind of train-like, screwdrivers wedged between strings), slowed down field recording of static on an AM radio, prepared piano (various objects strategically placed between certain strings), slowed down field recording of typing on a keyboard, slowed down prepared guitar (hammer dulcimer style), field recording of frogs at night and teenagers screaming from the back of a passing truck, standard acoustic steel string guitar, prepared electric guitar & cat (drumstick wedged under strings being snapped against guitar body, while bowing strings w/violin bow), slowed down recording of prepared acoustic guitar (played dulcimer style), normal speed recording of prepared acoustic guitar (dulcimer setup), even slower recordings of two prepared acoustic guitars (hammer dulcimer type setup on both), prepared electric guitar (played with violin bow and objects wedged under strings moved to change tension), prepared electric guitar & delay pedal (played using violin bow, sounds whale-like), prepared electric guitar (objects under strings moved to change tension while strumming), standard classical guitar & field recordings of birds, backwards odd improv with acoustic and classical guitars, field recording of very strong thunderstorm (complete with sirens), slowed down recording of prepared electric guitar (screwdriver wedged under strings, vibrating against guitar body), normal speed recording of prepared electric guitar (with screwdriver wedged under strings as before), standard electric guitar & backwards recording of prepared acoustic guitar (played with screwdriver serving as a kind of bow), prepared acoustic guitar (played hammer dulcimer style), prepared electric guitar (setup with a few screwdrivers wedged under alternating strings, vibrating all over the place), slowed down backwards recording of prepared electric guitar (using objects wedged under strings and played with violin bow)."

Wow. But like we said, it's the music that counts, and the music is lovely and entrancing. Fans of the Dead C, Gate, Birchville Cat Motel and the like will dig this quite a bit.

- aQuarius Records