The Caretaker
Persistent Repetition Of Phrases (LP)
First re-press in a decade for The Caretaker’s 2009 masterpiece, one of the earliest and most iconic releases on his label History Always Favours the Winners, and a true classic of the early 21st century. Spine shivers, all the way.
*In process of stocking* 'Persistent Repetition Of Phrases' success comes from the attention it pays to the function of 'the loop', not only as a narrative ordering system in modern music, but as a means by which the brain itself recalls and interprets information; it's as old as recorded sound itself, but in this context the repetition of small shards of auditory information becomes an elegy to fading memory and the worn-out synapses of old age. The track titles offer signposts through Kirby's labyrinth of faulty remembrances, pointing their way towards the peculiarities dictating the manner by which the mind stores and attempts to recover information.
Beloved of departed cultural theorist Mark Fisher, The Caretaker’s alchemic transformations of 78RPM shellacs have, over time, come to hold a unique place in underground and popular imaginations simultaneously. It’s the sort of music that elicits strong feelings from gen Z as much as Janus-faced xennials, jaded gen X-ers and perhaps even your gran, in a way practically incomparable to any other records of this strange century so far.
It’s an album that transcends notions of ambient or even concrète, sharing a palpable uncanniness, on the cusp of soothing, melancholy and something deeply ineffable. We’ll leave it to keener listeners to draw their own conclusions, but suffice to say that it’s an essential listening experience for anyone who prizes the capacity of music to transport across time and space, or more acutely impact your sense of self.
Details
Cat. number: HAFTW003RP
Year: 2023
