Keith Kenniff is at it again, albeit hidden by a different alias. The man behind Helios has been composing delicate, minimal, piano-based songs since 2005 under the moniker Goldmund. The focus of the project seems to be bringing the listener ever-closer to the creation of the music, with microphones recording the sounds of feet pressing pedals, hammers striking strings, and fingers tapping keys with care, imbuing the recordings with a sense of tactile stimulation as well as aural.
On Two Point Discrimination, Kenniff creates short tracks that are meant to demonstrate the main theme, explore it, and then move to the next song, all in a flowing, linear progression from the EP’s opening to its close. Tracks like “Light” and “To” (the song titles are actually a sentence, further demonstrating Goldmund’s commitment to linear progession) illustrate this mission perfectly, moving quickly from one aspect of the idea to the next in an almost improvisational manner, before quickly wrapping up the track just as the repetition begins to lose its charm.
The brevity of the release works with and against Goldmund. On the positive side, the length just feels right for what Kenniff is attempting – any more and it would sound bloated and turn the listener away, rather than the condensed, determined release that it is. As a man wiser than I once said, “You have to be like a velociraptor, not Biggie Smalls – slim and dangerous rather than fat and dead.” On the other hand, some of the tracks are so short that they don’t develop enough to satisfy the listener. “From,” in particular, ends so abruptly it sends you flying off Kenniff’s dedicated path. It may only be for a moment, but on a release like this, every moment counts, and losing one can leave you playing catch-up for the rest of the EP.
Two Point Discrimination is a light, delicate, and accessible listen, as satisfying to listen to while occupied as it is under close scrutiny. The length and method of recording work together to create a powerful emotional resonance, and the EP is worth checking out for album closer “One” alone. Though some of the tracks may be clipped a bit short, this hinders the beauty of the release minimally. If nothing else, it’s perhaps a taste of what’s to come on the full-length Goldmund release due next year.
-Zach Mills