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Louisville, KY's Rachel's might record for the punk/noise label Quarterstick Records, but their ambitious blend of post-minimalist modern classical music and post-rock experimentalism (guests include ex-Volcano Suns bassist Bob Weston; ex-Rodan leader Jason Noble wrote several tracks with Grimes) has almost nothing at all to do with rock music. These seven pieces, recorded between 1991 and 1994, featuring a cast of 16 musicians in various combinations, range from the two-minute solo piano miniature "Frida Kahlo" to the chaotic fourteen-and-a-half-minute "Full on Night," which blends a full chamber orchestra with electric guitar and tape loops like a more sonically aggressive version of Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Well-recorded and gorgeously packaged (as are all Rachel's albums), Handwriting is probably not to be recommended to the usual Quarterstick Records fan, but admirers of modern classical music will find much to enjoy. ~ Stewart Mason
Personnel: Jason Noble (guitar, electric bass, tapes); Maria Christensen (violin); Christian Frederickson (viola); Eve Miller (cello); John Upchurch (clarinet, bass clarinet); Rachel Grimes (piano); Bob Weston (double bass, electric bass); Dick Barber (double bass); Barry Phipps (upright bass); Kevin Coultas, Gregory King (drums).
Audio Mixers: Rachel Grimes; Jason Noble; Christian Frederickson; Bob Weston .
Recording information: Baltimore, MD (??/1991-10/1994); Chicago, IL (??/1991-10/1994); Louisville, KY (??/1991-10/1994).
Unknown Contributor Role: Jeff Mueller.
Rachel's includes: Jeff Mueller (spoken vocals); Jason B. Noble (guitar, electric bass, tapes); Marnie Christensen, Jacob Pine (violin); Eve Miller (violoncello); Christian Frederickson (viola); Nat Barrett (cello); John Upchurch (clarinet, bass clarinet); Rachel Grimes (piano); Mark Greenberg (vibraphone); Bob Weston (acoustic & electric basses); Michael Kurth, Barry Phipps (acoustic bass); Richard Barber (contrabass); Kevin Coultas (drums); Gregory King (hand drums).
Engineers include: Tony French, Bob Weston, Jason Noble.
Melody Maker (6/17/95, p.35) - "...From the bonsai beauty of `Frida Kahlo' to the mathematical marvel of `Saccharin,' this record needs no words to be a lyrical masterpiece. From the drunken Lalo Schifrin opening of `M. Daguerre'...Rachel's takes tunes you barely remember and weave them into songs you'll never forget..."
NME (Magazine) (6/10/95, p.51) - 8 (out of 10) - "...a sprawling 16-member coalition of jazzers, avant-rockers and classically trained types improvising furiously. If it seems a pseudo nightmare on paper, in practice HANDWRITING is a lovely and unpretentious record..."
Rachel's - Handwriting Songs
Handwriting Music Review
Average Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)   dark and moody
I can't spout the usual platitudes that a normal reviewer would use for this group's music, since I'm just a civilian. I first heard them on WFUV in the Bronx, but I was hearing the music over the phone at my home in Florida. Even so, I was totally captivated, and that appreciation for their stuff hasn't faded. If you need a modern day comparison, think of a vocal-less version of San Franciso chanteuse Jill Tracy, or an acoustic Marconi Union. Surreal, grandiose, then almost hallucinatory at times, you'll be dragged under by the current and carried along for the duration.
Submitted by crash_clavin (Orlando, Fl.)
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