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Daniel Menche tends to wrap his albums in mystery. October's Larynx makes no exception: The only information disclosed is the artist's sole responsibility regarding "sound & noise" -- no track titles or any idea given as to what the listener is hearing. The listener is free to fantasize his or her own shards of context. Released on the lowercase label Alluvial, this CD belongs to Menche's more gentle, ambient side. Sound constructions involve a lot of air displacement and resonance. Feeling as if standing in the middle of an underground cavern, the listener hears creatures passing by but cannot make them out. Or maybe listeners are trapped in the stomach of a monstrous creature, which would account for the burbling sounds and the overall warped, decaying aspect of Menche's sound world. The first track clocks in at almost 23 minutes. The first gestures are pretty much transparent, leaving intact the sound of a bead rolling around in a tin bowl. This may be the main sound source for the whole album. The piece hangs somewhere between angelic, ethereal high tones and dark, cavernous rumblings -- a sonic purgatory filled with hopes and anxiety. Three shorter tracks follow, of which the last builds up to a climax cut short, à la Francisco López. For the last piece (16 minutes), the tin bowl is once again exposed before things develop like a reprise of the first one. Impressive but not for the faint-hearted (or the close-minded). Fans of Mnortham and Bernhard Günter will appreciate the blurring between field recordings and treated sounds. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide
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