Boxhead Ensemble -- Dutch Harbor - Where the Sea Breaks Its Back (review)

Artist: Boxhead Ensemble
Album: Dutch Harbor
Genre: post-rock | drone
Year: 1997
Label: Atavistic Records

I picked up a copy of this CD while browsing the avant-garde section of Wuxtry Records in downtown Athens.  On occasion, I come across an album that really blows me away; although, I wouldn't use such terminology to describe this particular work...
Dutch Harbor - Where the Sea Breaks Its Back is the soundtrack to a 1998 documentary film of the same title directed by Braden King and Laura Moya.  While I have not seen said film, the Boxhead Ensemble's compositions have piqued my interest.
This music is best summed up as beautiful yet eerie.  The album is a meld of post-rock and drone mixed with soundbites that I assume are taken from the documentary itself.  The introduction consists of crackling radios and an ominous reed solo that transports the listener to the choppy seas off the coast of Unalaska Island where Dutch Harbor is located.  The droning of the next few tracks juxtaposes a feeling of tranquility in an otherwise harsh environment.  Recordings of shipping yards, trucks driving along snowy paths, and the forces of nature are abundant and only help to transport the listener to the seemingly rustic and chilled land- and seascapes of Alaska.  Despite this being the Boxhead Ensemble's second effort, they do a magnificent job of using nothing but sound to achieve such vivid, peaceful imagery.
The droning soundscapes are broken up by passages of guitar noodling on "Captain's Bay Road" and the full-on jam session that is "At Sea."  Dutch Harbor is also interspersed with a number of spoken passages.  In "Mother Gromoff," the titular woman teaches the listener various words in a language that I can't seem to figure out.  The final track, "In Closing," features a man by the name of Buck Rogers talking about Manifest Destiny and the westernization of Unalaska Island.
Aside from the spoken word segments, the Dutch Harbor soundtrack is almost entirely instrumental.  The one exception to this is "Ebb's Folly," which is the only track to feature vocals.  The song consists of a strummed guitar line backed by soft droning noise.  The vocalist is passionate yet tender as he delivers the somber lyrics.  The melody drifts on soothingly until the guitars are drowned out by a crescendo of abrasive noise.
The Boxhead Ensemble eloquently paint an image of a relatively bleak, yet peaceful Unalaska Island.  I hope to pick up a copy of the group's followup, The Last Place to Go (Recordings from the Dutch Harbor European Film Screening Tour), but until then I plan to continue enjoying this masterpiece.  You can listen to the soundtrack on YouTube here.


Rating: 5 / 5
Top Tracks:
Ebb's Folly
Captain's Bay Road
In Closing
Introduction
Ship Supply