A Whisper in The Noise is a stand-out even before the first listen because it is the project of a composer. That's right, a "composer". Right away a level of sofistication beyond the realm of the self-taught guitarist who calls himself a songwriter is implied. "Composer" also conjures up images of a person adept at the arrangement of classical instruments. So is this another prog-rock band with an orchestra overlay for emphasis? Not quite. In fact, not at all.

West Thordson creates compositions with electronic sounds, natural classical instruments, and conventional rock instruments. Each of these is a pillar of the composition: Thordson's work wouldn't fly if you trimmed away the violin, the cello, or the electronics. At the same time, instead of being overzealous and throwing a whole pudding of strings and horns in your direction Thordson keeps the arrangements sparse, giving emphasis to individual instruments. (Oh that violin!).

A Whisper in The Noise is dramatic, melancholic music. The melodies prey on your feelings the way a film score would, except that Thordson's work feels complete without moving pictures.

Read the interview with West Thordson which includes photos of their live show at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood.

Start with the band's myspace page. It is regularly updated and currently showcases a couple of songs from their upcoming release "As the Bluebird Sings". To hear samples of the CD that is currently for sale click on the emusic, iTunes or CD Baby links below.

"As the Bluebird Sings" will be out April 18th. You can preorder it here.

Note that A Whisper in the Noise is touring North America during Spring 2006.

	2D 2004, self released	Buy the CD from If Thousands
	West confessed breaking a cardinal rule of laying down records with this album: "don't change moods too often or you risk losing your audience." Well, the mood changes with almost every song here. West Thordson and his crew got together with Minneapolis noise-band If Thousands to record a few tracks and came away with this yo-yo of an album. It starts off with strong and cinematic A Whisper in the Noise, followed on the next track by pure mellow noise. That would be an If Thousands track, a band so bent on gentle noise-making that they once recorded an hour-long song designed to help people sleep. Now guess what happens on track 3 of 2d? Heavy drumming, electronic percussion, horns, keyboards, strings, screaming, pleading and general nightmarish drama. That would be Thordson's gang again. And it goes on like that, alternating between drones and drama until the end of the album. Surprisingly, it actually kind of works. The If Thousands songs feel like welcome interludes to West's condensed nightmares set to music. Finally, as if the players wanted to drive the point home that they were doing something original, the CD comes in a hand-made wire-bound wooden case. If you really like Through the Ides of March you should get this too.

	Through the Ides of March 2003, A Whisper in the Noise / CD Baby	Buy the CD at CD Baby
	Recorded by Steve Albini and released through CD Baby, this full-length is an ambitious debut. The songs effortlessly alternate between very light and airy to bottomless bass with heavy drumming to intense string work and haunting vocals. Singles downloaders should find "The Song You Hate" to be an easy introduction to a.w.i.t.n.: it is an intense romp in Nine Inch Nails territory, but less distorted and with a real violin and cello. Also, you would do well to download "Silence" for a taste of West Thordson's excellent compositions. Like on most tracks, the string section is out in force and with great effect. If you like "Silence" you should just get the full album.

	Live Show March 23 2006, Knitting Factory Hollywood
	The first show of their national tour as openers for Arab Strap was played with a crucial element of the band missing: the violinist Sonja Larson was trying to finish school in New York. There would be no string instrument for the first month of the tour, apparently. I wrote above that West Thordson's compositions do not hold if you remove just one musical instrument, and while West did his best to fill the voids with his keyboards I would think a show with the complete band is essential to get the full effect. West did say that the band will be touring a lot if he has his way. So I will hold off judgement in the hopes of seeing the complete band in LA soon. Based on what I have seen so far, it should be powerful show. You can see a few pictures of the live set on the West Thordson interview page.

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