Christian MARCLAY, Ikue MORI, Elliot SHARP "Acoustiphobia"

[...]
On the first Acoustiphobia disc, the trio moves from very quiet moments of reverberant sound (electronic, metallic, plastic, or stringy) through periods of explosive polyrhythmic noise. Certain threads run through the pieces in alternating cooperation and defiance. Mori's drum sounds, for example, may emerge in perfect synchrony with the other players, only to rapidly shift tempo into a galloping rush. Meanwhile the other two performers may join in, or instead persist through the burst. Perhaps the most colorful contributions on Acoustiphobia come from Sharp's guitarbass, which he uses to deliver overtones, microtones, and a multitude of processed noises.

Disc two of Acoustiphobia features experiments in sound from students of Boston's School of the Museum of Fine Arts (sMFA). As a strictly student presentation, these twenty pieces reflect a cleverness and naivete which is rare in recorded media. Found sounds, vocal passages, and heavily treated electronic tones trade off throughout these pieces. And with the rich diversity of approaches, the listener must shift gears every few minutes to adjust to a new style of composition.
[...]
AAJ

Elliot Sharp & Carbon "Tocsin"

1/ Raptor
2/ Good For Business
3/ Wex
4/ Sockets
5/ Morphing
6/ Tox
7/ Contradiction In Terms
8/ My blood Is Boiling
9/ Ossuary
10/ Big Lie
11/ Chilly Necessity
12/ Running On Cafahol
13/ Highrise

Zeena Parkins : electric harp
Marc Sloan : electric bass
Joseph Trump : drums, percussion
David Weinstein : sampler
Elliott Sharp : doubleneck guitarbass, sampler, lapsteel, soprano, AC. guitar.

Tocsin, like several albums he released around this period, showcases Elliott Sharp's more rock-oriented side, featuring fairly short tracks with strutting rhythms and (for him) catchy hooks. The opener, "Raptor," as well as "My Blood Is Boiling," sound like something smuggled in from a Blind Idiot God session (BIG member Ted Epstein is, in fact, thanked in the notes accompanying the disc) with their surging bassline and over-the-top guitar work. Other tracks vary somewhat from the dark, malevolent strain that normally is part and parcel of a Sharp album; "Sockets" even gets into some P-Funk style grooves (!). Much of the rest is the sort of roiling, aggressive music Sharp fans were accustomed to, if a bit slicker than the earlier incarnations of Carbon (like I/S/M) where roughness and lack of sharp edges were valued. The leader displays considerable chops, especially on pieces like "Big Lie," where he shows himself the equal of any number of more celebrated pickers, but perhaps takes too much of the spotlight; one wishes to have heard more up-front contributions from the fine harpist Zeena Parkins, for example. Still, Tocsin is probably one of Sharp's most accessible projects, quite handsomely recorded and one that most rock fans would have little trouble enjoying. Listeners hoping for something on the more visceral level of his Larynx, for example, would be better served looking elsewhere.
Review by Brian Olewnick, All Music Guide