Blue Sausage Infant (née Chester Hawkins) has been releasing recordings for well over twenty years. But up until now, these recordings have been home-made, and therefore, of varying degrees of sound quality. His first mass-produced (and professionally mixed) album, Flight of the Solstice Queens, primarily focuses on creating a transcendental experience through the layering of ambient sounds and electronic fuzz. Many people may see such a description and the “experimental music” tag attached to it and run for the hills, but Flight of the Solstice Queens succeeds in inducing a trance-like sensation, even for those who may be less open to non-traditional sounds.
The first two tracks on the album are arguably the strongest. Opener “Gezhundheit!” shows Hawkins at his most playful. The electronic buzz tinkers around like a sneeze waiting to happen, while samples from cold medication commercials punctuate the sounds, which do eventually end in that expected sneeze. This is followed up by “Flight of the Solstice Queen,” which appeared on The District of Sound Vol. 2, a pulsating cut with the sort of droney guitar sounds that wouldn’t be out of place on a krautrock mix. It’s quite a bit darker than “Gezhundheit!” and that moodiness reappears later on the album with “Radiant Arc.”
The other five tracks are less accessible without the visual projections and creative costume choices utilized during the very energetic Blue Sausage Infant live performance. Some (like “Space”) are relaxing, with chimes, owl-like sounds and understated vocal tracking adding layers to some of the hiss and feedback. Others (like the record’s twelve-minute closer) are as creepy and unsettling as the melting clown candle on the album cover — and yes, after awhile the constant sound can get repetitive. However, Hawkins’ particular strength is the creation of a mood; Flight of the Solstice Queen works because he doesn’t limit himself to just one.
Blue Sausage Infant’s CD release party is tonight at Comet Ping Pong at 10:30pm with Pilesar and Strotter Inst. $8.
