Transcendent Device appears to be the duo of Michael Todd and Jesse Sola, of
Denver, and have released a few CDRs beginning in 2004.
The sounds here, though, are very much rooted in two earlier eras. First, the
mid-1980's (think Nekrophile Rekords) and secondly, the early 1990's (think
Italian artists like Die Sonne Satans and Atom Infant Incubator, but more subdued).
These are the associations that came to mind while listening to this. Restraint
is the byword on these recordings, with sparse synthesiser drones and occasional
slow heartbeat rhythms underscoring almost subliminal melodic and textural elements,
and this subtlety and lightness of touch is what redeems a recording that would
have been easy to pass over as merely derivative. Certainly, there is absolutely
nothing here that hasn't been done before, repeatedly, they have done it at
least as well as their obvious predecessors (and better than some, even). If
you liked the early Ain Soph cassettes only up to the point where the vocals
came in, this recording is definitely for you. But anyone looking for an unobtrusive
late-night listen could do worse than this.
