Matthew Herbert - One Pig (Accidental Records)
This strange, mostly ambient album is the latest work from electronic artist Matthew Herbert, who has been active for over a decade and a half, releasing recordings under the names Herbert, Doctor Rockit, and Radio Boy, in addition to his own and various others. This album is the third part of a trilogy, which began with One One, an album composed entirely from sounds Herbert made himself. On the second album in the trilogy, One Club, he assembled the album from sounds recorded one night at the Robert Johnson club in Offenbach, Germany. The third album in this trilogy is called One Pig. Do you see where this is headed? Sure enough, this is an album composed entirely from sounds created during the life cycle of a pig, which was raised with the intention of being slaughtered. This premise attracted all sorts of attention before the album had been released or even recorded, inspiring protests from PETA and other vegetarian groups. Herbert is not a vegetarian himself, but has expressed preferences that we humans eat less meat, be aware of the conditions in which the meat we eat is cultivated, and demand improvements to that condition.
I found Herbert's views and explanations for this entire concept interesting, and if you are interested in reading more of what he has to say about it, there's a pretty fascinating debate between he and a PETA spokesperson posted on his website. The real purpose of this review, though, is to talk about the relative worth of the sounds to be found herein. To be honest with you, I find it a bit hard to accept the idea that every sound I hear on this record results from ambient recordings of the life cycle of a pig. That is clearly the foundation for all of these tracks--during the ones that were recorded while the pig was alive, you can certainly hear all sorts of porcine noises. Sometimes those sounds are unaccompanied, but they are generally backed with ambient electronic music, the mood of which tends to change from song to song as the pig's life cycle progresses. Some, such as "September," have a jaunty and upbeat feel to them. Others, "December" being a prime example, are darker and more downcast. And they're decent, as ambient electronic tunes go. While there is a significant portion of this album during which you're listening to snorting pigs over a quiet background of humming electronics, that's not the majority of what's here, by any means, and when the actual songs kick in, they're generally enjoyable.
On the other hand, I found the final moments of "August 2010," one of the posthumous tracks, rather appalling: it features full-volume recordings of people eating a piece of pork that was once part of the living pig we heard on earlier tracks. That's an interesting idea and all, but in practice, hearing several people loudly masticating chunks of food for two minutes at a time is a disgusting listening experience, one that I hope I never have to repeat. "May 2011," the only song remaining after that one, is a rather surprising change of pace--a short, melodic folk song, played on acoustic guitar with vocal accompaniment by Herbert. I liked this tune quite a bit. Its lyrics aren't overtly preachy, by any means, but they clearly carry a message about the ideas that Herbert wants listeners to take away from the album, as mentioned in the first paragraph. Pig sounds fade back in after the short acoustic tune, underscoring his point and taking the album to its conclusion.
The most important question to ask about One Pig is this: would it be as interesting without its gimmick? It's hard to completely dismiss the actual listening experience it provides, and honestly, the layers of resonance added to the tracks by pig noises make it a more enjoyable listen, especially on some of the album's darker moments, in which low-pitched grunting from the pig provides an extra layer of sinister mood for the music. But knowing what you're hearing is a big part of the way the record keeps a listener's attention--or at least, it was for me. For that reason, I find it hard to believe that One Pig could sustain my interest beyond half a dozen listens or so. Perhaps a bigger fan of ambient electronic music than I am could really get into this; however, for me it seems more interesting in concept than in execution.