Stephen Vitiello, Hahn Rowe, Brendan Canty - Second (2025) [Hi-Res]

Review
A collaboration between Stephen Vitiello and Brendan Canty feels unexpected. Vitiello, an academic who teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University, is known for his cerebral, slowly-evolving sound art. In Fugazi and now the Messthetics, Canty has provided propulsive and powerful drumming. Melding these two incongruous approaches presents obvious challenges without any predictable path.

A third musician, Hahn Rowe—who, in addition to having played in Hugo Largo brings multi-instrumental talent and experience as a sideman with iconoclasts like Glenn Branca and JG Thirlwell. Rowe, who has contributed to Vitiello's work since 1998's The Light of Falling Cars, demonstrates a deep understanding of how to build on and extend his careful palette and approach. He successfully unites these strong creative personalities' disparate approaches to shape Second into a unique, coherent whole.

The trio initially collaborated in 2023 on "First," a single extended piece; this full length provides space to emphasize different aspects across its eight tracks. "Mrphgtrs1" and the first half of "Last Minute Guitar" hew closest to Vitiello's typical approach, with textures in the foreground and a lack of drums. On "#6" and "New Prepared Guitar," Canty plays driving beats that would fit in his other projects. His playing leads the other instruments, with Vitiello's soundscapes submerged in the background.

Much of Second, though, pulls everyone out of their comfort zones as they explore this new space. "Rhythmic Rhodes" has a dub-like beat, a long reverberant tail behind the snare drum and drones in the foreground. Rowe's violin unites the piece by dancing rhythmically around, and weaving itself into, Vitiello's sustaining parts. "Rasun112" blurs the line between texture and rhythm, and emphasizes the composition over the individual musicians' performances.

While many albums blend instrumental dexterity and electronic processing, Second stands out thanks to the deeply-honed skill in both approaches. © Steve Silverstein

Tracklist:
1-1 Stephen Vitiello;HAHN ROWE;Brendan Canty - Last Minute Guitar [6:22]
1-2 Stephen Vitiello;HAHN ROWE;Brendan Canty - Piece 2 at 77BPM [5:16]
1-3 Stephen Vitiello;HAHN ROWE;Brendan Canty - Rhythmic Rhodes [6:58]
1-4 Stephen Vitiello;HAHN ROWE;Brendan Canty - #6 [6:08]
1-5 Stephen Vitiello;HAHN ROWE;Brendan Canty - Rasun112 [4:56]
1-6 Stephen Vitiello;HAHN ROWE;Brendan Canty - First Improv [6:38]
1-7 Stephen Vitiello;HAHN ROWE;Brendan Canty - New Prepared Guitar [4:58]
1-8 Stephen Vitiello;HAHN ROWE;Brendan Canty - Mrphgtrs1 [8:30]