These two Norwegians, Dag-Are Haugan and Espen Sommer Eide, make music that on the surface seems like just more glitchy electronica–their latest album, Miniatures (Rune Grammofon, 2005), has its fair share of soothing, skittering synthesizer melodies. But a careful listen reveals a lot more going on underneath; the album’s second half in particular is dominated by field recordings and conventional instruments played in unconventional ways. “St. Paul Sessions II” employs a kind of homemade Steve Reich-style minimalism, with a staccato guitar chord pulsing beneath jagged, chiming patterns on xylophone and vibraphone. And the long-form “Building Instruments” sounds like a document of the processes that created it: we seem to hear Haugan and Eide waking, clearing their throats, and tuning up before slowly beginning work on the piece proper; inarticulate phrases on guitar, harmonium, and percussion stumble along at first but, joined by distant old-timey voices, gradually coalesce into a beautiful, rough-hewn hymn. This is experimental in the best sense–you can never be sure where things are headed. This show is Alog’s Chicago debut; Psiconautas and the Armor Class open. Thu 8/17, 9:30 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $10.
