For McCoy
The Japanese multi-instrumentalist enlists Jim O’Rourke for an unusual fusion of jazz improv, musique concrète, and plaintive pop that pays tribute to Law & Order’s Jack McCoy.
Eiko Ishibashi’s career is punctuated with stark contrasts. In only the last few years, the Japanese multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter has dabbled in free-form electronics, lush chamber piano, and saccharine pop tunes for the score of a potentially Oscar-nominated film, continuing a process of self-reinvention that has been a through line of her solo career since the start.
The lion’s share of the LP is taken up by the 35-minute “I can feel guilty about anything,” which plays out like a wordless drama. The track opens with a porous layering of descending flute melodies—reminiscent of the ascending flute in Law & Order’s main theme—before melting away against a warm swell of synthesizer and voice. Talia dances in with a darting cymbal fill before locking into a steady rhythm, while Fujiwara weighs in with small bites of saxophone. Each moment is given a distinct but fleeting shape before giving way to the next, like a series of scenes that set the stage for McCoy to move through.
(pitchfork)