Shiflet, Merciless (side A)

The back cover of 2011's Merciless claims to contain three songs on side A and two on side B, but each album side is a continuous piece without any pause.  The album sides do evolve in distinct movements, but there is not a clear break between the movements, only between the sides.  The transitions between the movements are technically seamless, but the relationship between the different ideas feels less clear.  The album begins explosively with a series of percussive sounds of electronic but somewhat unclear origin, which lasts a long time, and seems like it might be the only idea on the album.  Instead, it gradually evolves into a later section with some vaguely tonal elements.  The notes do not seem identifiable or important, but the droning sounds have a clear root frequency and extended sustain, which differentiates them from the first section.  After the side flip, the album continues with these sounds, until creatively-edited excerpts of violin and cello, playing mostly in extended techniques, move to the foreground toward the end.  The album until this point had been entirely electronic in origin.  Shiflet clearly has great control of his palette in each section, even as the sources and sounds change.  It's less obvious, to me, how these tracks relate in his head as a finished album.  The sounds fill the midrange and high frequency areas, with the highs brought slightly to the foreground and very little bass frequency content.  The beautiful close-up, black and white photo on the cover of Merciless reflects nicely on the album's abstraction, but it appears to have an organic origin far from most of Shiflet's palette.