Jackie McLean - One Step Beyond

Jackie McLean's 'One Step Beyond'

To parlay into my personal life I work in a restaurant. In my restaurant as any I have a steady group of customers I consider my regulars. One of these individuals happens to be Paul Carmen who played on a few Zappa records and is a pretty accomplished saxophonist. Anyways, tonight while we were talking at the bar we began to discuss some records by musicians such as Freddie Hubbard and Andrew Hill. After coming home and reflecting on the experience I thought of Jackie McLean's One Step Beyond which sort of hints at an avant garde sound while at the same time remaining a bop record. The two highlights in the group here are Grachan Moncur III and Bobby Hutcherson. Hutcherson on vibes and Moncur on trombone really help flavor the rest of the group as McLean isn't the most involved player. Tony Williams really fills this record out on the drums in a subtle yet intelligent way. Truly a lost jazz classic.


Jackie McLean - One Step Beyond (1963)

Andrew Hill - Black Fire

Andrew Hill is my favorite jazz composer. His arrangements, his groups, everything about the man I throughly adore. When I heard about his death last year it saddened me a great deal because even in his old age he was still a marvel of a player and more importantly still releasing relevant jazz music. 'Black Fire' followed Hill's most celebrated achievement 'Point of Departure' and while that album is probably one of the best avant garde jazz records of all time the rest of Hill's discography is certainly not something to scoff at. Simply looking at the rhythm section of this record you know you are in for a treat. Two of the most inventive jazz musicians of the period Roy Haynes and Richard Davis bring a extremely tight performance to this record and in my opinion easily surpassing Davis' performance with Tony Williams on 'Point of Departure'. Where 'Point of Departure' comes off as a more compositional record, 'Black Fire' seems to showcase the more meandering improvisations of Hill's music and in that light it comes off as a fantastic journey.

Andrew Hill's 'Black Fire'

Describing the actual tone of the album; "It wasn't unusual in the mid-60s for Blue Note albums to include original compositions, but sometimes these compositions were pretty generic: a modal number, a "Sidewinder" clone, a blues number, etc. But not here -- each of Hill's tunes is distinct from those generic categories, and from the other tunes on the album. Hill's tunes include weird twists and turns, starts and stops, alternating sections with clashing ideas or moods, unpredictable rhythms, and of course a touch of Monk. "Subterfuge" is a percussive, claustrophobic piano trio performance. "McNeil Island" is another trio performance, but this time Roy Haynes sits out. Joe Henderson plays very lyrically on this one. "Black Fire" is a waltz, alternating an upbeat theme with a darker one. It's interesting to see how the soloists adjust to the frequently adjusting moods in their solos. "Pumpkin" (introduced by a striking Richard Davis bassline) and the sorta-Latin "Cantarnos" both feature intense, passionate melodies. " - GB (user on Amazon.com)

This is a fantastic record and a great exploration into the stranger areas of jazz for any fans of the genre. Perhaps not a great starting point for Jazz or even Hill, but a very solid record once you become accustomed to what exactly this man's philosophies on music are.


Andrew Hill - Black Fire (1964)

Capillary Action - So Embarrassing

Capillary Action's "So Embarrassing" should be regarded as incredible for one main reason; the horn sections. Examples of the brilliance of the horn sections can be found in "Elevator Fuck" and "Placebo or Panacea" where the horns simply don't just provide another blast of noise, but literally they act as the underlying developer of Jon Pfeffer's bizarrely catchy melodic changes. Another positive is how beautifully the string and horn sections are produced which can easily be explained due to the addition of Colin Marston in a production capacity. Most of what the band is doing on this record seems to be a meeting point between the break neck changes of Mr. Bungle with the melodic creativity of Time of Orchids. In many ways "So Embarrassing" parallels two of my most recent favorites "Blue Lambency Downward" and "Namesake Caution" in how it bridges the more sophisticated melodic ideas of jazz and classical composition with modern rock and pop. Every member of this group is playing at a peak of effortless rhythmic changes and carefully arranged harmonies. This attention to detail the members provide to each movement helps some of the more jilted sections like the end of "Bloody Nose" play a little smoother than they would otherwise. “So Embarrassing” is yet another example of how great mixing the avant garde and more simple genres works greatly.

capillary action's 'so embarrassing'

Though "So Embarrassing" deserves a large amount of praise the record does fall apart due to a few simple flaws. First, where bands like Time of Orchids and Kayo Dot are going through massive amounts of changes they seem to have a sense of when to let things develop. Capillary Action seems to fall into the Mr. Bungle comparison I drew earlier and be more about showing off their ability to shift between vastly different parts in short amounts of time. This is probably more of a personal preference but because of that a lot of the beauty in these songs seems to be lost. "Paperweights" is a notable exception with its drawn out acoustic portions being one of the most beautiful sections on the record. Still, the groups to which Pfeffer's indulgencies seem to relate are far more experienced and have had time to develop their ideas, Pfeffer is only 21 and already he has released an album that possesses a very original sound as well as an impressive amount of musicianship. Given the time to let his music mature I'm sure he will find himself in the company of his peers and inspirations, but for now his music will just have to settle for being very impressive instead of awe inspiring.

Capillary Action - So Embarrassing (2008)

Asva - What You Don't Know is Frontier

asva

for those who have not heard yet, Kayo Dot's latest record 'Blue Lambency Downward' has leaked and is also available streaming from bluelambencydownward.com. Kayo Dot is probably my favorite band, if not them Off Minor and they really have progressed their sound into something familiar yet different with their new record. oddly enough the metal side of their sound has been stripped which may seem weird with their recent signing to Hydrahead Records. although there is a change Kayo Dot's new record is soon to be out and you can expect a more developed review from me on rateyourmusic.com in the future.

kayo dot's 'blue lambency downward'

in keeping themes, the reason i was originally interested in the album i've uploaded is because of Kayo Dot's head Toby Driver's supposed vocal appearance. well, almost two years after its initial announcement it appears although Toby's contribution has been removed the group known as Asva has created a marvelously melancholic experience. drone and doom metal alumni are over this album with it featuring members of Burning Witch, Earth, Sunn 0))), as well as contributors who were involved with Mr. Bungle. but, i really can't talk about this album as well as lefthandpass's Stewart Voegtlin does.

asva's stuart dahlquist

"As luck would have it, I’ve never met Stuart Dahlquist. In late spring of 2005, I patched an awkward bit of writing together hailing the operatic prog of Asva’s Futurists Against the Ocean. I e-mailed him the review and from then on, Stuart and I corresponded willy-nilly, mostly about books, ideas, places; his words always alarmingly honest and innocently unaware. A month after my Futurists review ran, Stuart’s brother, Michael, was killed. I woke up one morning, had coffee and checked some websites. There on Stephen O’Malley’s Ideologic page was the news. The one year anniversary of Michael’s death came around and Stuart wrestled with how he was going to spend that time. He was living in Long Beach, getting along well enough and doing his best to keep the demons at bay. He told me he was going to stay at a mountain cabin and think about Michael. When he came back down that mountain, he said he’d gotten deep down into a bottle of Wild Turkey, listened a lot to Michael’s band, Silkworm, and bawled his eyes out. He told me he missed Michael. He still tells me that a lot. I don’t blame him. Sometime after that I got a package in the mail; it was the What You Don’t Know Is Frontier demo. I put the disc on immediately. Given what I knew, the music was almost unbearably forlorn, a frigid gust of life rumbling the shelves in my living room. Outside the sun was bearing down – the first flex of a muscular summer heat. I have never heard anything like WYDKIF. It reminds me of the first time I heard Mozart’s Requiem, or Gould’s Goldberg Variations. The music has a punishing sort of beauty, an inflicted aesthetics that hands the hearer no choice. I wanted to share it; I pitched articles to some big glossies and never heard back. Undeterred, I tried to cook up a summit without border constraints. No e-mail, no phones. Stuart and I talked about getting together for a big, drunken interview: whisky and words, wishes and wants. I proposed that we do it down South. And then he told me about the family ranch in Livingston, Montana. Well – me being a fly-fisherman – we had our interview location. He told me little to nothing about the ranch proper. He did say that his grandfather’s marker was up there, high in the mountains. He told me what the marker said: That one day we might ride together in a different place. His Sons and Grandsons. And he told me that Michael’s marker will one day rest there as well. The Greek playwright Aeschylus said that there’s no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief. That quotation, at least for me, encapsulates WYDKIF. But I’m just a writer. I’m listening to the music and listening to what Stuart says about the music, and I’m trying to make a judgment. Sometimes, I can be right. Sometimes, I just cheat – and ask. “Everything I did [after Michael’s death] – and to a large extent still do – is directly affected by the sense of such an absolute loss,” Stuart wrote in an e-mail just before the New Year. “I wasn't sitting there writing music thinking of Michael, but his influence was inescapable.” The phrase, What You Don’t Know is Frontier, came from “Bring Me a Monkey,” a poem Michael wrote. The phrase reluctantly governs the music in the only way it can, acting simultaneously as some sort of wildly incongruous masthead and also as one’s only recourse against the unknown. Outside the slim boundaries of knowledge is – as always – the wilderness. Stuart confessed that the creative process wasn’t so much an emersion as it was avoidance; he poured as much of his emotion into that vessel as he could. One more stray drop would’ve split the hull. “The finished result was what I really wanted, needed actually, to hit an emotional chord,” he wrote. “WYDKIF – when taken as a whole – needed to have real impact to remind me: ‘this is where you were, Stuart, embrace it again.’ I think it succeeds in doing that.” It does. The music is a fabric, a structure that has always been here. Evocation is forever. Presence is tactile. Foundation rolls out to the horizon, what’s grown from its ground is as artificial as it is organic. Guitar and bass weep. Skins and brass are intermittent flares – hot crackling bursts of white and red in the midst of a bottomless black. Melodies ghost through ruin and the mind holds them fast and doesn’t let go. Analogues are plentiful. I thought of Grieg or Berlioz at their greatest bombast. I thought of peasant music; poor, tired and toothless folk gumming nursery rhymes. I thought of Morricone and Orff, Tampa Red, Charley Patton – even Wagner. As soon as I heard the final mix I e-mailed Stuart. “The feeling of vastness is unmatched,” I wrote. “Tons of imagery. It's hard to turn off the mind with these sounds. I just keep seeing the ocean. Lots of water. Lots of rock. Sky. Barren plains. Blood and filth and death. The melodies are touching; the bombast is cathartic. I'm happy as shit for you, bro. You've done it...” He really has. For three straight months, I listened to WYDKIF every day on the way to work. From the highway to the open fields and worn rural roads, my broken speakers rattled and vibrated, the bass thudded and hummed and roared through their scratched black grates. When the pipe organ comes in at the end, the rattling goes away. The organ has such presence, such heft, but it sounds like lightness, like the quality of having little to no physical weight. Stuart had originally performed the piece on a Hammond, but said the pipe organ was [Engineer] Randall [Dunn’s] suggestion; that he “wanted it to sound like air was moving, like the wind was coming back into your sails.” It does. It’s rejuvenating. It’s settling. It makes sense: “WYDKIF is about rebirth,” Stuart wrote, “about that light at the end of the tunnel. Amen.” It’s high past time for that interview, and I hear Livingston trout are just killing beadheads right about now." -lefthandpath.com

asva's 'what you don't know is frontier'

you should all really purchase this album, i know i can't wait to get my copy. sadly, it is not actually out until june.

Kayo Dot - 'Blue Lambency Downward' (2008)
Asva - 'What You Don't Know is Frontier' (2008)

singer - unhistories

Singer essentially acts as a meeting place for two fairly well respected math rock groups. Singer is composed of U.S. Maple members and one of 90 Day Men's vocalists Rob Lowe meaning there was obviously a base of excellence already in place before 'Unhistories' was even recorded. In terms of actual sound 'Unhistories' comes off as 90 Day Men's eclectic side with the pop sensibility literally gutted and replaced with a large emphasis on composition. 'Divining' is a dizzying piece that begins with some very beautiful multiple voice harmonizing with underlying keys that rhythmically evokes the strong basic rhythms of Battles. The first section dissolves and in its place is an acoustic conclusion that is at the same time completely unexpected while also being perfectly incorporated. 'Unhistories' in general really is a sound that is very different but also very logical. The supposed drum solo in 'Oh Dusty', the foray of kraut rock that extends it self through closer 'Mauvais Sang', all of these moments add up to make a truly unique experience which in some ways reflects the fluidness of Time of Orchids' 'Namesake Caution'. One of the key successes of the group is Rob Lowe's vocals which are really in a class of their own. I guess if we examine Chicago as a scene Singer is basically the older brother of a group like Owls. All of the same ingredients are included in these two groups but the maturity that Singer brings to the sound makes them far more successful. When songs like 'Please, Tell the Justices We're Fine' musically reach into realms that sound like mindless noise Lowe and his backing band are all able to vocally keep a control over the sound which in turn extremely helps support sudden changes like the guitar solo that appears out of nowhere about four minutes into the track. Simply put 'Unhistories' is proof that unorthodox methods of playing, singing and composing can still be used just as effectively as the orthodox methods.

singer's 'unhistories'

If I were to guess I'd imagine 'Unhistories' will be a one off project but it is clearly much more than a release from a "super group" of sorts. Singer in the vein of 90 Day Men's 'Panda Park' has crafted a memorable experience due to its complete uniqueness. 'Unhistories' is a great release and is certainly something any fan of the avant garde should take a look at.


Singer - 'Unhistories' (2008)

Ocrilim - Annwn

Ocrilim is Mick Barr’s solo moniker which has released two cds. What makes these two records different from Barr’s other recordings is how regimentally the composition on it seems to have been arranged. While Barr has always experimented within his own personal realm of minimalist shred ‘Annwn’ represents him at his most bare as well as his most successful. Where ‘OV’ was highly successful in its steady progressive shredding, ‘Annwn’ is simply Barr playing about seven guitars and two basses in a style that can only be described as orchestral. In a sense this record is very easily enjoyed once one gets past how unpleasant the tone is. Barr’s trebly guitar interspersed with some just a tiny bit less trebly bass evokes an 8-bit symphony. His tonal choices though are not that simple with a range of melodies being played from gloriously major to harrowingly minor. Although this record is extremely experimental and may sound very off putting I find that the actual melodic content is very easily accessible and in a sense provides the vast amount of odd choices with a little balance. Barr has really never exposed himself in this style of highly infectious yet still technical pieces and the results are excellent.

Ocrilim's 'Annwn'

Complaints can be directed towards the almost hour and a half play time of the record which while it isn’t a major issue will certainly effect the replay value of ‘Annwn’. Also, perhaps in future Ocrilim recordings maybe the featuring of other pronounced instruments would improve the sound since the arrangements here are so amazing yet are held back by the alienating guitar tones. Still, very few issues can be taken up with Mick Barr’s latest record and that is a pretty impressive feat for someone that is dredging through the same techniques as failed soloists Steve Vai and etc. Barr should be applauded for his nature of being more interested in the composition’s needs rather than his own when it comes to showing off and because of that ‘Annwn’ is clearly a success.

Ocrilim - Annwn (2008)

six organs of admittance - compathia

i'm sure every person has artists that they adore but sometimes slightly ignore when talking about their tastes. i'm certainly guilty of that in regards to today's post, an artist who i think at one time i perceived as the best guitarist in current music. with his last two records under the Six Organs of Admittance guise that opinion has fallen out of place but with his excellent back catalogue and his work with Badgerlore and Comets on Fire, listening to Ben Chasny is always provoking and interesting. 'Compathia' in my mind is the best album put out under the Six Organs of Admittance name. while some may argue that 'Dark Noontide' is his most concise work, or that 'School of the Flower' represents his most eclectic voice i can not help but love the half stoned guitar exercises that make up most of 'Compathia' and Chasny's early Six Organs work.

six organs of admittance's 'comapthia'

where does the intelligence in this music really come from? in my mind, it is the brilliant way Chasny combines the aspects of an acoustic guitar and drones together to create something that is both unique and extremely attractive. 'Somewhere Between' is a great example of this with how sparse its middle is compared to the vocal parts of the song. 'Compathia' though is kind of a diversion from that process, the last remnants of his avant garde sounds being expunged before he turned into the Drag City indie icon he has sort of become. where his early records seemed to evoke some kind of unstructured noise 'Compathia' has a distinct structure to it, many of the songs feature vocals and choruses. even though Chasny seems to be moving in a more acceptable direction, there are certainly a few anomalies on this album. 'Only The Sun Knows' the closer is a sonic experiment featuring Ethan Miller of Comets on Fire and excellent track and one of Six Organs best. experimental folk balanced with a good backing of actual songs. think John Fahey meets Gary Higgins.


Six Organs of Admittance - Compathia (2003)

Top Ten of 2007: Tartar Lamb - Sixty Metonymies

Toby Driver in the past two years has been quite the prolific artist. Releasing his debut solo album, a collection of intensely precise and planned compositions, in late 2005 on Tzadik was his first attempt to distance himself from the extremely epic release "Choirs of the Eye" that had made his band Kayo Dot a critical and underground favorite. Kayo Dot also released their second LP in early 2006; "Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue" was an experiment in the subtle and drawn out. Sure, "Choir's " strong emotional crescendos were present in "Dowsing", but gone were their epic conclusions. These spots were instead replaced with explosions of noise or ten minutes of drifting guitar work. As Toby himself stated, he felt "Choirs of the Eye" was perfection in what it had attempted to do, so instead of following what most "metal" bands would've done and staying put in his popular musical formula, Toby tried to do something different.

tartar lamb

With the release of "Sixty Metonymies", Toby has finally reached the full sound he has been hinting at since his solo release almost two years ago. A sonically sparse and repetitive listen that is referred to by its own composer as a composition built "in such a way that each figure can be heard as metonymical to each other", "Sixty Metonymies" is a dizzying recording that cycles through such a vast cycle of arrangements in such a short time that it'll certainly leave the listener bewildered upon first listen. Certainly Toby's other projects have also had this stigmata attached to them, but moments like the intense full band explosion in "The Manifold Curiosity" left the listener some memorable or familiar portion of the song to latch on to on further listen. "Sixty Metonymies" is devoid of these trigger moments and almost completely removed from vocal performance. To describe it as "catchy" would be the overstatement of the decade.

tartar lamb's 'sixty metonymies'

On this recording Toby and Mia Matsumiya's excellent performance is accented by "extended percussionist" Andrew Greenwald and horn player Tim Byrnes of the group Friendly Bears. Greenwald's style of percussion is a fantastic addiction to the bizarre composition of "60 Metonymies". Rarely relying on the traditional, his implication of various objects such as stray metals flavors the more "compositional" parts of the piece with an urgency of modernism. While Greenwald's performance is one of a kind, trumpet player Byrnes is seemingly invoking the kind of playing that was a staple on Kayo Dot's "Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue" It gives the trumpet performance a sort of "we've already heard this" feel and while it isn't necessarily distracting it is somewhat disappointing. Toby's guitar playing is mostly focused on seemingly replicating a piano but his subtle implication of selected chord phrasing gives the piece a more varied feel. Toby is able to prolong an otherwise excessive repetitiveness by always casually advancing into more beautiful and interesting melodies. Mia finally seems to expose her prowess as the group's most experienced player. Her usage of various extended techniques is at the same time virtuous and restrained. Tartar Lamb once again shows her as a key player in any setting, not unlike say a musician like Eric Dolphy who even in his performances of other's works added so much to the playing that without him or her in Mia's case the piece would fall apart. Finally, while Toby's vocal performance is not featured very often when he does add slight breathing, whistling or the final monologue it is a breath of fresh almost childish air.

'sixty metonymies' beautiful handcrafted layout.

"60 Metonymies" is yet another emotionally and compositionally brilliant addition to Toby Driver's resume. It is obvious that Toby has mastered his own vision of minimalism with this record and it'll be interesting to see where he goes next. Conquering one's perception of the both the entirely bombastic and entirely reserved is not an easy task but one has to question where Toby will go from here. Kayo Pop? I'm sure like many of his gracious fan base, the next release associated with one of the most interesting composers of our time will not only challenge my sense of music but Toby's own. And that is where Tartar Lamb succeeds, they are not saturated in the idea of pleasing fans but instead just themselves. On the way to record this album Tartar Lamb performed a variety of shows across the north half of the U.S. I was lucky enough to persuade them to come to my home town of State College, Pennsylvania and after the performance Toby, Mia and I listened to an unmastered copy of "60 Metonymies". Where most artists would've grown bored or unimpressed with a piece they'd been working of for two years, Toby and Mia seemed just as fascinated with the recording as me. Pointing out subtle percussion parts, discussing each others' techniques, and even joking about the conclusion, it was obvious that the same devoted and massively appreciative fan base of Toby Driver is such because it reflects his same feelings towards his music. Few artists' work resonates in me the way Toby's does and Tartar Lamb is no different; emotional, interesting, and original.

Toby has expressed his distaste in the downloading of his music, you can purchase it here.

Top Ten of 2007: Time of Orchids - Namesake Caution

'Namesake Caution' is one of kind. Time of Orchids has made an individual addition to music with this record and the level of technical excellence that is smeared all over this gloriously addictive avant-pop masterpiece is jaw dropping. Every song is a series of disjointed explorations of guitar melodies that go from influences of Don Caballero to Fantomas to Beach Boys in a matter of three minutes. While as strange as that sounds perhaps what sets the bar for Time of Orchids is the beautiful incorporation of lots of multi-layered vocals. One needs only to look at the flawless ending of 'Mean (Hush-Hush)' which can only be described as Mr. Bungle meets Kayo Dot. As, I don't feel like using that band's name very often in this review, lets just say this is like what Kayo Dot would be if they were really into pop music. The composition is just as intrinsic and can only be understood after numerous listens. 'Namesake Caution' obviously has changed the playing field of what avant-garde music can be.

Time of Orchid's 'Namesake Caution'

'Darling Abandon' is the most successful track on the album for really two reasons. One is the fact that song begins with a stuttered gasp. This subtle yet extremely pleasing attribute is probably one of the best decisions Time of Orchids has made since their inception and its usage is incredibly poignant. The other reason is because the bastardized guitar solo that is in that song is quite possibly one of the most epic moments that I've heard in music in a very long time. The video for 'Darling Abandon' is a bizarre conglomeration of '90s television effects mixed with post-modern paintings. Clearly, Time of Orchids is an intelligent group and the fact that they can release an album like 'Namesake Caution' that is just as challenging and completely different from their previous release is insane. 'Sarcast While' is literally one of the best Tzadik records and while it is a very flawlessly executed in its style, 'Namesake Caution' is a more precise record. 'Sarcast While' may hold more artistic weight in my heart, but 'Namesake Caution' is often the album I find myself reaching for when I'm in for a fix of the complex.

Time of Orchid's video for 'Darling Abandon'

Time of Orchids finally can be completely and utterly praised for the way they conclude this rollercoaster of an album. After dredging through the ten minute bong filled 'We Speak in Shards' which in itself is a task, we are greeted with possibly the softer side of Time of Orchids in the track, 'Entertainment Woes'. 'Entertainment Woes' ups the anti on 'Sarcast While's' epic conclusion by simply just creating a three minute long soundscape that is literally one of the most beautiful things I've heard in a long time. In short, 'Namesake Caution' is a record any music fan should own. If you do not enjoy this, you are obviously to shallow to appreciate true expressions of music. This is one of the most insanely layered records I've picked up in a long time and the way it has kind of been ignored is in my opinion almost criminal.

Time of Orchids - Namesake Caution (2007)

infidel? / castro! - bioentropic damage fractal

there are very few records that introduce something new to me today. sure, i can discover a record like Ghostface Killah's "Ironman" that really is everything i've ever wanted in a rap album, but it is still a Wu-Tang production which is something i've obviously heard before. i'm sure Kayo Dot's new record will probably reorganize these thoughts just because all of their previous ones have done that but, how can i be sure of this? its sad to me that i can place most contemporary music into a box, so whenever i find a band that completely redefines my notion of what music it is i usual take notice. Time of Orchid's has been able to do that with their last two releases ("Sarcast While", and "Namesake Caution".) and Birchville Cat Motel did help revitalize my fetish in the genre of "noise" with their masterpiece "Beautiful Speck Triumph". but perhaps the only band to redefine my notion of what music can do after Kayo Dot is Colin Marstin's Infidel? / Castro! a dazzling blend of post-rock, electronica, and Calculating Infinity era Dillinger Escape Plan.

Colin J Marston

"Bioentropic Damage Fractal" is a vicious cycle of insanity and solace. beautiful tracks like "Bedridden" and "Temporarily Dissolving Into Plasma" placed in between the idm blast beats of "Bedsores (For GWB)" create a tense, schizophrenic journey of epic proportions. very few albums resonant like this album in an emotional sense, which is strange because most of their recordings are simply based on samples of noise and the steady layering of minimal electronic guitar playing. there is obviously very little of the cartoony tech metal of Marston's other head project, Behold... The Arctopus. in a recap "Bioentropic Damage Fractal" is simply just one of the most original and creative records ever made and its strong sense of crescendos and climaxes places it amongst the greats of this kind of music like Kayo Dot or Time of Orchids.

infidel? / castro!'s "bioentropic damage fractal"

"Bioentropic Damage Fractal" came to me in the midsts of a hard break up that left me not being able to sleep, etc. etc. this record was so beautiful that it basically gave me something to look forward to during work and other boring activities. obviously that is a very trite story, but this album just has the power to bring out statements like that. i remember one of the original things that pointed me towards it was a ten page analysis on the album on the website rateyourmusic.com. it was an excellent review and probably one of the most comprehensive ones i have ever read. obviously i can't recommend this record enough to those interested in the avant garde. highly recommended. a classic.

infidel? / castro! - bioentropic damage fractal - disc 1 (2005)
infidel? / castro! - bioentropic damage fractal - disc 2 (2005)