‘Precious and Intelligent Metal’ is a hypnotic record, if there ever was one. Harnessing the sacred vibrancy of pitched metals and resonant objects, the five-movement compositional work creates a liminal and ethereal space, one where percussion meets electronica, a triumph of low-humming drones and interlacing harmonics. As one might expect, it’s a highly nuanced and leftfield record, one that showcases the contemporary compositional allure behind Quinn Collins’s classically oriented artistry. Also a multi-instrumentalist, Collins bathes in a large pool of influences, be it noisy electronica or neo-classical journeys.
However you look at it, ‘Precious and Intelligent Metal’ does exactly what its title declares. Unfolding with a keen sense of space and a sacred reverence for pauses and silences, the record obsessively plays with slow-paced rhythmic grids and sustained resonances, even embracing hints of pointillism. Across five episodes, the album shifts from elegant, sparse metal arrangements to functional chaos, with bass-leaning sound design making a large appearance in ‘The Ballet For Trout Fishing in America’, loosely based on Richard Brautigan’s eponymous novella.
Elsewhere, a carefully choreographed ballet of glockenspiel, vibraphone, toy piano, tuned pipes and more, transforms the listening experience into a dreamy abstraction, a cathartic wall of sound that’s both intense and gentle, playful and eerie. It’s the perfect marriage of intents, here seen through Quinn Collins’ boundary-pushing musical flair.
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