Ball of Wax 52 Songs: Small Life Form – “Old Sounds for a Young Piano”

Small Life Form returns to Ball of Wax after an auspicious debut on Volume 51. “Old Sounds for a Young Piano” is definitely shorter, and arguably more musical, than “Penetrable Surface,” but it continues SLF’s creative exploration of repetition, drone, and decay. A simple, melodic piano line repeats, first on its own and then fleshed out with chords and bass notes. With each repetition reverb is added and the signal seems to break up. Somewhere along the line a haunting tinkling sound pops in and out, as if someone is opening and closing a music box. I get the feeling that the raw materials of the piece don’t change once all of those elements have been introduced, but the processing and manipulation pile up until, less than three minutes in, we are left with a strange, pulsing, digital wash of sound. And, if you’re me, you go right back to the beginning to try to figure out how we ended up here. Another compelling sonic experiment from one of our new friends in North Carolina.