Acquiring the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet’s The Real Deal as a new release in 1987 was a turning point in my relationship with sound. Exposing me to the expansive possibilities of music, the thrilling album made me receptive to experimental textures far outside conventional boundaries.
The youthful epiphany prepared me for The love it took to leave you, a gargantuan new statement by Colin Stetson. In addition to containing distant echoes of the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet, The love it took to leave you expands the possibilities of classical minimalism and electronic ambiance.
Frightening in both its dissonant sonics and destabilizing emotional intensity, The love it took to leave you is often overwhelming. Immersing oneself in tracks like "The Six" and "So say the soaring bullbats" is a dangerous proposition. As the title of the album suggests, love can get awfully dark.
