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toltzboy456's review against another edition
4.0
This was awesome: a wide-ranging yet fairly coherent account of the musical drone in all of its potential glory. In a lot of ways this is a super validating book: it articulates why I've been drawn to the weirder side of music beyond your standard rock and hip-hop (as much as I love those touchstones), and a lot of it has to do with the therapeutic and hypnotic effect of sustained tones, putting us in touch with something much bigger than ourselves. It introduced me to a lot of music I've already become obsessed with (La Monte Young, Ash Ra Temple, Sara Davachi, Earth, etc.).
patrickwreed's review against another edition
3.0
A fascinating work in places, but let down by some stylistic or editorial choices - for a book whose intro begins firmly in the stoner/doom/drone axis, and whose artwork and sales pitch seems to sit equally in that area, a scant chapter is dedicated to the likes of Earth, Sunn O))) and The Melvins, while Black Sabbath don't make an appearance until at least two thirds of the way through.
That's not to say that the prior chapters are inessential; points of Hawkwind, LaMonte Young, Krautrock, and the influence of Ravi Shankar and Indian ragas on western music are very well made and their significance convincingly argued, and with impressive depth.
What lets the book down is a tendency towards Nick Kent-esque glorification of the drug-addled experience of some of this music (admittedly, not to be overlooked when discussing rave music or Sleep, but it grates after a while), and some repetition of metaphor and analogy that should have been picked up. The same comparison being made multiple times in a single chapter is off-putting. There also some tangents which, while entertaining, feel like the writer is going off-piste in order to talk about some personal favourite artists far more than ensuring that he's sticking to the topic of drone - it's hard to justify how Neu!'s "Hallogallo" or the music of Andrew Weatherall could be considered drone, no matter how brilliant it is, and in places it seems that drone, minimalism and repetition are conflated, while a section on hauntology seems to exist purely because it's trendy, rather than because it's relevant.
If you're fascinated by the drone/doom genre specifically, this book may seem a disappointment, but if you have a more broader interest in the making of music generally, and particularly in the fringes of popular music - from Alice Coltrane to Neurosis by way of John Cale - I would thoroughly recommend this, and make sure you've got a notebook or a Spotify account handy as many songs and artists are written about in such a way as to make you want to put the book down and stick their record on immediately.
That's not to say that the prior chapters are inessential; points of Hawkwind, LaMonte Young, Krautrock, and the influence of Ravi Shankar and Indian ragas on western music are very well made and their significance convincingly argued, and with impressive depth.
What lets the book down is a tendency towards Nick Kent-esque glorification of the drug-addled experience of some of this music (admittedly, not to be overlooked when discussing rave music or Sleep, but it grates after a while), and some repetition of metaphor and analogy that should have been picked up. The same comparison being made multiple times in a single chapter is off-putting. There also some tangents which, while entertaining, feel like the writer is going off-piste in order to talk about some personal favourite artists far more than ensuring that he's sticking to the topic of drone - it's hard to justify how Neu!'s "Hallogallo" or the music of Andrew Weatherall could be considered drone, no matter how brilliant it is, and in places it seems that drone, minimalism and repetition are conflated, while a section on hauntology seems to exist purely because it's trendy, rather than because it's relevant.
If you're fascinated by the drone/doom genre specifically, this book may seem a disappointment, but if you have a more broader interest in the making of music generally, and particularly in the fringes of popular music - from Alice Coltrane to Neurosis by way of John Cale - I would thoroughly recommend this, and make sure you've got a notebook or a Spotify account handy as many songs and artists are written about in such a way as to make you want to put the book down and stick their record on immediately.
aprholt's review against another edition
3.0
Perhaps it's my own fault for reading more than the entire second half of this book in a single day, but its repetitive, in most parts relentlessly linear structure began to grate rather than give grounding. It is undoubtedly at its most vital in those sections where it capitalises upon the conceptual potential provided by the drone, as in the quite revelatory first couple of chapters on its ritual and ecstatic uses. The genre-centred sections, however, all too often devolve into list form, each new item inevitably signposted by something like "if X were doing *this*, then Y were doing it altogether differently" before a (sometimes tenuous) mention of the drone's relevance is hastily dropped in in the manner of a student repeating the terms of the essay question at the end of every paragraph to give the illusion of staying on track.
The approach is clearly intended to and effectively does uncover the startling ubiquity of the drone, from the varyingly appropriative use of the raga in 60s pop to its covert infliction upon unsuspecting techno audiences by the likes of Surgeon and Regis. It is also well suited to dealing with a dizzyingly large volume of artists, and though I had heard of many of them I nonetheless finished the book excited to approach music new and already beloved alike with fresh impetus and perspectives. Still, I think a thematic approach would have proved more rewarding, and some of the placements and inclusions were confounding -- Eliane Radigue, in my mind pretty much *the* essential drone artist, only gets her own, fairly limited section right at the end. Tim Hecker apparently merits no more than a single paragraph. As much as I sometimes appreciated the kaleidoscopic approach and understand that demonstrating that variety was really the point of the book, I feel it would have benefitted from more prolonged reflection on the obvious and really essential exponents of the drone; the comparably thorough treatment of La Monte Young et al, for example, was much more rewarding than the rushes through proto-punk and hardcore.
Sword is a good writer, and contrary to one of the other reviews here I found his drug descriptions contributed a great deal to their relevant sections. The description of the gritty psychedelia of the Velvets' beloved Speed was a particular highlight, and I for one didn't feel he over-indulged when talking about the subject elsewhere. And while over the course of the book you definitely begin to notice some of his favourite phrases recurring rather more often than you would like ("...a paean to...", "this is *italicised adjective* music", etc), he consistently and effectively conveys the subjective spirit of the music he's talking about; he can certainly be forgiven a few repeated adjectives given he is predominantly talking about one type of sound for an entire book.
Undoubtedly an enjoyable, worthwhile, and informative reading experience: but the more intriguing conceptual slant of the book as laid out by the first few chapters disappointingly recedes into the background as it progresses. What follows is largely closer to a compendium of the drone than an exposition of its essence.
The approach is clearly intended to and effectively does uncover the startling ubiquity of the drone, from the varyingly appropriative use of the raga in 60s pop to its covert infliction upon unsuspecting techno audiences by the likes of Surgeon and Regis. It is also well suited to dealing with a dizzyingly large volume of artists, and though I had heard of many of them I nonetheless finished the book excited to approach music new and already beloved alike with fresh impetus and perspectives. Still, I think a thematic approach would have proved more rewarding, and some of the placements and inclusions were confounding -- Eliane Radigue, in my mind pretty much *the* essential drone artist, only gets her own, fairly limited section right at the end. Tim Hecker apparently merits no more than a single paragraph. As much as I sometimes appreciated the kaleidoscopic approach and understand that demonstrating that variety was really the point of the book, I feel it would have benefitted from more prolonged reflection on the obvious and really essential exponents of the drone; the comparably thorough treatment of La Monte Young et al, for example, was much more rewarding than the rushes through proto-punk and hardcore.
Sword is a good writer, and contrary to one of the other reviews here I found his drug descriptions contributed a great deal to their relevant sections. The description of the gritty psychedelia of the Velvets' beloved Speed was a particular highlight, and I for one didn't feel he over-indulged when talking about the subject elsewhere. And while over the course of the book you definitely begin to notice some of his favourite phrases recurring rather more often than you would like ("...a paean to...", "this is *italicised adjective* music", etc), he consistently and effectively conveys the subjective spirit of the music he's talking about; he can certainly be forgiven a few repeated adjectives given he is predominantly talking about one type of sound for an entire book.
Undoubtedly an enjoyable, worthwhile, and informative reading experience: but the more intriguing conceptual slant of the book as laid out by the first few chapters disappointingly recedes into the background as it progresses. What follows is largely closer to a compendium of the drone than an exposition of its essence.
jonvarner's review against another edition
3.0
Starts off strong with the author in an ancient Maltese mausoleum with strange amplifying acoustics. The early chapters have the tone and sprawl of an enthusiastic stoner relating a recent dive down a wikipedia rabbit hole. He establishes the premise that drone is the basis for all music and is key to the way we connect with the world and space and time, and begins to elaborate on the role of drone in so many different musics.
Unfortunately, the book later devolves into a more traditional capsule history of a music journo's favorite bands. He mentions early on that he started off writing a history of doom metal and much of this reads like he barely altered that content to fit the new thesis. His genre interests are wide ranging, but past 1990 primarily focused on the UK. Several musicians and bands, particularly in the punk and EDM chapters, have a very tenuous connection to drone, while more relevant ones go unmentioned--no Yellow Swans, Thomas Koner, Kali Malone, GRM, et al. Noise music in general is barely examined.
Still, it's a good book. He does cover a lot of ground and when he remembers his thesis--connecting a thread through musicians as diverse as Alice Coltrane and Melvins--it's at its best.
Unfortunately, the book later devolves into a more traditional capsule history of a music journo's favorite bands. He mentions early on that he started off writing a history of doom metal and much of this reads like he barely altered that content to fit the new thesis. His genre interests are wide ranging, but past 1990 primarily focused on the UK. Several musicians and bands, particularly in the punk and EDM chapters, have a very tenuous connection to drone, while more relevant ones go unmentioned--no Yellow Swans, Thomas Koner, Kali Malone, GRM, et al. Noise music in general is barely examined.
Still, it's a good book. He does cover a lot of ground and when he remembers his thesis--connecting a thread through musicians as diverse as Alice Coltrane and Melvins--it's at its best.
tdbrwn's review against another edition
An entertaining tour through musical history which effectively culminates in the drone/doom of Sunn O))), Sleep, Electric Wizard, etc. The introduction mentions that the book was originally intended to be a history of doom metal and I think it's helpful to still think of it in these terms because otherwise the choices made about what to include/exclude might seem odd. Without that frame in mind, it can feel like the focus on drone has been forgotten at some points so that the author can write about whatever music they particularly like (e.g. the sections about punk).
The author obviously had to be selective (and I think they did a good job of it, all things considered) but, personally, I would have liked to read more about the ambient-drone world (Stars of the Lid don't even merit a mention?!) and dub (which receives a few illustrative references but no extended treatment beyond the short section on The Bug/Kevin Martin). All that said, I had a great time reading this and my to-listen pile has inevitably grown as a result.
The author obviously had to be selective (and I think they did a good job of it, all things considered) but, personally, I would have liked to read more about the ambient-drone world (Stars of the Lid don't even merit a mention?!) and dub (which receives a few illustrative references but no extended treatment beyond the short section on The Bug/Kevin Martin). All that said, I had a great time reading this and my to-listen pile has inevitably grown as a result.
thebechdelbitch's review
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Best music history book I've read to date. So many genres and scenes covered here in such delightful detail and with so much love.
jayrothermel's review against another edition
4.0
A great collection of anecdotes and globe-trotting in the style of a Robert Macfarlane book.