Flying Saucer Attack / Roy Montgomery, Goodbye (12" EP)

In 1996, Flying Saucer Attack and Roy Montgomery were both known primarily for gentle ambient pieces with slowly evolving guitar drones.  At the time, it was surprising when "Goodbye", their only collaboration, featured a diverse palette with few droning guitars.  The stronger personality here is Flying Saucer Attack.  A common textural element is a set of noisy, distorted loops — these resemble FSA's "Since When" on the Harmony of the Spheres compilation, and also foreshadow the more sophisticated use of this palette on New Lands.  The most surprising sound to show up is a conventionally-played acoustic piano, which is not typically associated with either artist.  Structurally, the pieces feature some drastic cuts, which were not commonly used by FSA or Montgomery.  In retrospect, "Goodbye" feels more like a set of interesting experiments than a particularly focused release from either artist.  The blurry cover photo emphasizes the low-key nature of the release, as both artists have used more careful designs on many of their releases.  The mastering emphasizes the lo-fi nature of the recordings — this approach was more common for Montgomery's work, as FSA's proper albums often employed efforts at commercial mastering.