November 18-24, 2004

music

Face Lifting

The New Face of Frowning: "The tracks are so worked over, all emotion is drained for me," says Signer.

Signer blends styles and makes smiles on his latest CD.

by Sean O'Neal

electronic

"I can understand that people will think firstly of shoegazer," says Bevin Smith, aka Signer (aaka Aspen). "I guess a distorted guitar and relatively low mixed vocals will do that. But I'm influenced by a far greater range of things."

Although the third Signer album, The New Face of Smiling (Carpark), starkly recalls the lush and layered guitar droning of My Bloody Valentine and Flying Saucer Attack, Smith claims inspiration from more obscure experimental rock sources: Talk Talk, Bark Psychosis, Bailter Space.

On 2002's Low Light Dreams, the New Zealand native and founder of Involve Records married the analog and digital worlds—fusing rudiments of minimal dub-tech, like Basic Channel Berlin, with warm acoustic textures, like Stars of the Lid and Low. But while Low Light droned aimlessly through dubbed-out tapestries, this year's New Face reveals sophistication to complement the complexity—all over Singer's signature dreamy ballads, fuzzed-out, fragmented pop and airy, organic soundscapes.

"I feel like I'm finally starting to open up and get confident and explore some stuff that I would've been scared of trying before," Smith admits. "It's hard when people categorize Signer as "minimal tech' or "shoegazer electronic.' I also do lots of folky acoustic music and heavy-metal disco.

"It comes down to choosing stuff that will best fit each release. It's not as if I have only done 10 tracks in the last year. I have 200 to choose from. It just takes time to whittle things down."

Smith wants his listeners to get lost in the layers, to feel something both immediate and deep. Repeat listens to The New Face of Smiling should unearth new elements—something "indescribable and mysterious."

"What I'm trying to say [with the album title] is not so important. There are obvious things: a new beginning, changing styles and reinterpretation of identity. What do you think it means? Not seeing as many people smile? Seeing more people smile? Putting on a brave face? A reference to the Beach Boys?" Signer says. "It's about seeing yourself as people see you."

Aside from making music with Signer and Aspen, Smith scored the Bafta-winning film Touching the Void, plays bass and guitar for indie bands Marineville and Over the Atlantic, respectively, plays in an unnamed two-piece project with Dino from HDU, and regularly jams with Matthew Mitchell's various free-jazz projects.

These side projects are a powerful personal outlet for Smith. Signer, it seems, may be too tied up in technology to bleed. "The tracks are so worked over, all emotion is drained for me," he confesses. "I did put a lot of emotional energy into them. But that has to go somewhere. People write me and tell me how the music affects them. So that is cool. I hope it makes some people happier."

Fri., Nov. 19, 10 p.m., $7, with The Sympathizers, Greg Davis and Ariel Pink, Tritone, 1508 South St., 215-545-0457, www.plainparade.org.