Remote Choir – Behemoth Conundrum / Sacred Cow
7.9.18 by Ryan Masteller

Jimmy Crouse has a vision. It’s similar to the one my friend and bandmate Paul had back in college when we were ripping off the Pixies and using our rock and roll lifestyle to, ahem, appeal to potential mates – you know, like peacocks. (Well, I was anyway. Regardless, none of us was good at it.) See, Paul wanted to ditch the standard four-piece lineup and bring in a bunch of likeminded souls to hum and chant, likely with minimal accompaniment (Paul was good at stripping a song down), potentially circling around a stage, likely holding candles. Come to think of it, Paul may have just wanted to start a cult.

In any event, I was totally against it – no way we were picking up chicks with a CHOIR. But Jimmy Crouse somehow, somewhy, obtained the key that unlocks the mystery of the unified vocal, the stretched harmony of chords emanating from the human mouth, and put it to use – not sure if it’s for good or evil, but let’s let you guys decide as you sift through it. Regardless, Crouse has compiled his Remote Choir, which is “made up of people from different places and times, some who have never met, and maybe never will.” That’s the gist, the likeminded camaraderie of a coterie of friends and strangers lending their voices to these original hymns, combining to form a liturgical Voltron heaven-bent on piercing the veil between the inner and outer, “the space that separates us.” These gothic paeans call to mind, for me anyway, the aching mantras of DAMA/LIBRA’s “Claw,” an intense song cycle and one of the favorite things I’ve written about in my now illustrious writing portfolio. (Google it, it might show up.) Remote Choir does it pretty well too – it’s lovely stuff.

But don’t take my word for it – or Paul’s (god, was he ever right!). Head on over to Specific Recordings or the Remote Choir page and grab one of these tapes, which contains both the “Behemoth Conundrum” and “Sacred Cow” EPs.