SCHOOL BUS, PAINLESS
(Icebox Records, IB3-001 3-inch CD)
School Bus’ latest effort is the inaugural release of a 3-inch CD series from Burlington-based Icebox Records. Mastermind and multi-instrumentalist Jason Cooley, a.k.a. School Bus, has previously flirted with the possibilities of groove-based, sample-heavy electronica. On Painless, however, he sets aside the drum machine to craft an album of gorgeous, guitar-based drones. Although it clocks in at only 20 minutes, Cooley establishes a hypnotic rhythm through the gentle ebb and flow of ethereal hums and clicks. Sampled voices waver in and out as the brief tracks rise and fall, gelling together into a unified whole. Yet Painless is not mere bliss-out blur. Just as certain notes seem to bring waves of chill, a storm of static fuzz crackles through. Painless is a texturally thrilling document of modern drone, a satisfying journey indeed.

- ETHAN COVEY