"Outdoor Bowers"
released by Pseudoarcana, September 2005
available for purchase through Half Theory, Pseudoarcana, Erstwhile, Synaesthesia, Volcanic Tongue and many more outlets
Australians Joel Stern (field recordings, manipulated objects and electronics) and Anthony Guerra (guitar and electronics) return with another example of their articulate hum and crackle and drone. Although recorded in London there is something recognisably Australian about the sounds on this disk. With its feral bird calls and dry twiggy rustles it somehow evokes the Aussie bush under an endless blue sky. Guerra's guitar loops and feedback drones craft the endless planes, the tentative human settlements and jagged ridges for the growth of Sterns brittle but miraculous organic life-forms. Occasionally harsh, but always warm, this disk is a majestic place to hang out.
from Bagatellen
"Admirers of “Stitch” by this same duo (and who out there isn’t?): don’t hesitate; “Outdoor Bowers” is every bit as enjoyable. Even if you have a rough idea of what to expect—and you might not be far wrong—the blend of Stern’s field recordings and electronics, rough-edged and often harsh, with Guerra’s guitar, always carrying a melodic undercurrent regardless of any surface noise deployed, is one of the delicious pleasures of contemporary improvised music. The interweaving, for example, of bird song, especially prickly static, spartan rubbings and object-droppings and astringent but plaintive guitar feedback, the basic components of the opening track, is simply and entirely convincing, sounding as “natural” as one could imagine. The guitar takes on a kind of continuo role, reminding me of, of all things (here he goes again) those ultra-slowed down versions of Pachelbel’s Canon that Eno created way back when. But grainier and maybe better. The harsher still, very unsilent “old whitechapel silence” mixes rolling, bouncing objects in (perhaps) metal bowls with massively abrasive, skin-rending feedback only partially mollified by rain patter before an abrupt and entirely in character sliced off ending. The gentler, virtually pastoral “rainy day woman #5”, all soft clatter ‘n’ hums subtly looped, leads into “avierys” [sic], my favorite of four strong works. It’s one of those pieces that just does its thing, here consisting of those birds again, a ratcheting, rough section of backwards (I think) tape that lumbers and lurches, stopping short brutally enough that you think the disc is skipping, airplane engines and Guerra’s willfully naïve guitar evoking, perhaps, a carnival’s calliope. It goes on until it’s finished and is then clipped off without sentiment. A very fine recording."
Brian Olewnick
from Volcanic Tongue
"Major investigation of various occult topographical aspects of London from a duo of deep-listening Australians, Joel Stern (field recordings, manipulated objects, electronics) and Anthony Guerra (guitar and electronics). Guerra’s guitar embraces some beautifully mesmeric loops and microtone-laden bow-work while field recordings of birds and frozen autumn air situate the whole of the proceedings in some kind of reverse English capital. With titles like “Old Whitechapel Silence” this would work as the perfect zoned soundtrack to your next re-reading of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell. Recommended."
from The Wire
"During an extended furlough in London, the Australian guitar/found object duo of Joel Stern and Anthony Guerra honed their skills in the post-Keith Rowe strategies that straddle electroacoustic composition and free noise improvisation. On Outdoor Bowers, the two generate a kinetic flurry of tactile sounds from various objects scraped accross guitar pick-ups and amplified through contact mics. Often mirroring the deliberate non-intentionality of free jazz percussion, these sounds skip, skitter and stumble as one of the distinclty stratified layers found throughout their recordings. Field recordings of chatty birds and rusted drones coaxed from the guitar roll in as the other parallel track layers for Outdoor Bowers. At times these layers are mixed so as to appear entirely uninterested in discourse with the othe sounds, creating a rather prickly mess; however, Stern and Guerra concoct polyphonic loops and revolving phrases in much the same way that Steve Roden slowly merges his concrete sounds into an elegant harmonic communion." Jim Haynes
from Broken Face
" Antony Milton’s PseudoArcana label continues to impress. This time by releasing a CD-R by Australian duo Joel Stern and Anthony Guerra. Outdoor Bowers is just like its predecessor Stitch an impressive combination of Guerra's highly processed guitar work and Stern's subtle field recordings, flavored with a healthy dose of microscopic electronics. What I find amazing with this duo’s work is how organic and warm it all sounds despite its highly experimental features. If my memory serves me right I described Stitch “as a record that's not only about minimal resonance, as the drones come packed in clusters of crackling details and corrosive nuances which, to tell you the truth, just wouldn't be near as astounding sans headphones.” This is still very much the case." Mats Gustaffason
from Paris Transatlantic
A lot of EAI these days has that inner city claustrophobia, humming like a substation or clattering like a cotton mill, but there's a distinctly rustic feel to proceedings here, not only in the album title and cover art, but in Stern's field recordings, which range from squeaky gates to all manner of flying creatures, tweeting, clacking, buzzing and twittering. Along with Guerra's explorations of the upper partials of sustained bowed tones, the title track sounds like Arnold Dreyblatt on a summer holiday on a poultry farm in the Gers. Le bonheur est dans le pré, quoi. "Old Whitechapel Silence" moves indoors, with Guerra's delicate pings and tweaks accompanied by a rattle of cutlery and crockery that sounds like it was recorded on a microphone hidden inside a teapot. The harmonies Guerra sketches in on "Rainy Day Woman #5" are relatively tonal, though not as unashamedly so as on his recent solo outing Empty Kingdoms. The final "Avierys" returns to the open air, planes miles above in a clear blue sky, birds singing merrily away somewhere in the distance, but its intricate rustles and scrapes are perhaps best appreciated on headphones. Beautiful stuff.– Dan Warburton
from Vital Weekly
From the ever so delicate world of Joel Stern three new releases, all of which deal with his love for playing with other people. First of all there is Anthony Guerra. No instruments are listed on the cover, but I safely assume they play guitars and electronics here, perhaps acoustic guitars. The four pieces are an excellent display of their many talents. Each track sounds different than the other ones, but each has its distinct quality. From the bowing sounds of the title piece to the field recordings of 'Avierys' - with bird calls and the sound of a camera. Electronics play a fairly modest role here, more serving than acting out. The 'Avierys' track aswell as the title suggest that they sat outside while recording this. A highly controlled atmosphere. - Frans De Ward
from Disquieting Duck
"Jeg angrer litt på at jeg ikke satte av mer tid til ”Stitch”, Anthony Guerra og Joel Sterns forrige (på Impermanent, 2003). Det kan jeg si nå, etter å ha hørt gjennom deres nye, ”Outdoors Bowers”, en tre-fire ganger (som gjerne er et tilrådelig antall, om ikke påkrevd, for å få et visst kjennskap til en plate), og erfart at den vokser og blir bedre for hver gang. ”Outdoors Bowers” er blant de mest utadvendte fri-impro platene jeg har hørt i det siste. Særlig tittelsporet – som faktisk viser kimer til melodi – uttrykker en åpenhet og varme som er nokså usedvanlig for genren (Guerras duo med Matthew Earle på L’innomable kan tjene som eksempel på det ubetinget motsatte). ”Organisk” er et annet adjektiv som (naturlig) dukker opp, ikke minst på grunn av friluft-feltopptakene og måten disse ubesværet og selvfølgelig blander seg og flettes sammen med instrumentlydene (ikke så ulikt, egentlig, Epinat/ Forge/ Bertholon sin ”Duo…” på Creatives Sources). Guerra spiller gitar, skraper med gjenstander mot gitarkroppen og pick-upen, Stern manipulerer gjenstander elektronisk. Gitarspillet til Guerra kan være hypnotiserende og liksom endeløst, Sterns elektronikk er mikroskopisk og eksotisk, som om hensikten var å illudere eller etterligne den australske bushens lydlige virvar. ”Old Whitechapel silence” har enkelte akutte aktiviteter og kvelle frekvenser og utgjør således unntaket, elementet som for et flyktig øyeblikk presser mot idyllen, den fredfulle og behagelig omsluttende atmosfæren som flyter gjennom ”Outdoor Bowers” og gjør platen til et trivelig utfluktssted."