Pascal – “Nihilist Chakai House” – [Discombobulate]

Thurston Hunger   9/11/2014   12-inch, A Library

Impressive KFJC introduction to UK drummer Pascal (Nichols). A
gorgeous, crisply recorded and creatively constructed set of 10
pieces. Pascal is part wind-up toy, part pachinko parlor, quick of
wrist like Tony Buck, this album never goes hyperactive sledgehammer
instead is a meticulous mix of restraint and rapid reflex.
Clockwork ticks and bonging bowls are minor recurring motifs
but the sound from track to track definitely varies. Honestly
this stands up to solo work by Bernard Purdie and Han Bennink.
He can impersonate a freight train (B4) or a Chicago Underground
deal (W2), sounds like he’s got a Gino Robair flair for ebow
on a snare, and he ends the album with a zen woodpecker where
it feels like he’s changing the shape of the room around that
teck-teck-tecking (maybe electronics, or a subtle resonating
set of vibes that he quietly quells in soft swells?) The opener
is a tuned drum excursion that tap dances on rim shots as
well. Drum roll turned drum rollercoaster. Pretty cool that
the same hands that produced this are equally employed in
crafting ceramics

-Thurston Hunger