ISSUE Project Room : an open and versatile environment in which established and emerging artists conduct, exhibit and perform new and site-specific work

Refreshed from a set of November dates opening for the Jesus Lizard, Noveller graced ISSUE Project last Thursday with her first show of the New Year – the labors of which are shared below. Noveller serves as the solo vehicle for Brooklyn-based sound artist, visual artist, and filmmaker Sarah Lipstate, who has worked with a diverse array of musicians: playing in Cold Cave and Parts & Labor, performing in the ensembles of twin towers of Downtown guitar music Glenn Branca and Rhys Chatham, and collaborating with Carlos Giffoni (whose No Fun Productions label put out her fantastic Red Rainbows album last year).

As Noveller, Ms. Lipstate sends beautifully constructed sheaths of complex colors drifting and swirling around elegant, crystalline loops of sparsely-picked guitar. In the performance of "Redgrave" (to be found on an upcoming 7” on FTAM), muted washes of shimmering chords float back and forth in slowed motions, framed by narrow streams of translucent sound that glide through the upper realms of the gloriously serene landscape, quivering with warm energy. A cleanly picked three-note guitar figure quietly emerges, oscillating in a steady but unhurried rhythm before vanishing back into the glowing haze.  "Bleached Beach" (from a forthcoming album on Important Records) and "Under the Color Cave" (from the recent split LP with Aidan Baker) are equally gorgeous, but I’ll allow you the pleasure of exploring the details without further prattle from me.