Louisville, KY's
Rachel's might record for the
punk/
noise label
Quarterstick Records, but their ambitious blend of post-minimalist modern classical music and
post-rock experimentalism (guests include ex-
Volcano Suns bassist
Bob Weston; ex-
Rodan leader
Jason Noble wrote several tracks with
Grimes) has almost nothing at all to do with
rock music. These seven pieces, recorded between 1991 and 1994, featuring a cast of 16 musicians in various combinations, range from the two-minute solo piano miniature
"Frida Kahlo" to the chaotic fourteen-and-a-half-minute
"Full on Night," which blends a full chamber orchestra with electric guitar and tape loops like a more sonically aggressive version of
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Well-recorded and gorgeously packaged (as are all
Rachel's albums),
Handwriting is probably not to be recommended to the usual
Quarterstick Records fan, but admirers of modern classical music will find much to enjoy. ~ Stewart Mason
