maudlin of the Well - Part the Second

Boston multi-instrumentalist/composer Toby Driver's first band maudlin of the Well played progressive metal with touches of contemporary classical music. The band released three albums, until Driver disbanded the group in 2003, founding Kayo Dot instead, that continued in even more avant-gardist vein. Recently, however, no less than 87 fans donated enough money to make the fourth album. The band upped the result on the internet for free download.

Part the Second is undoubtedly more listener-friendly than Kayo Dot's Blue Lambency Downward. While that album was almost devoid of metal, then here one can still find elements like shredding solos or double bass drumming. But compared to early works the emphasis is more on what is played, instead of the volume it is played with. PtS also contains less woodwinds than BLD and more piano and strings. Where BLD sounded dark and difficult, PtS sounds more brighter, especially on the album opener with a cumbersomely long title. Toby Driver has earned his status as one of the most inventive composers of modern day progressive music.

Entire album can be downloaded from the official site of the band.

BF - Klob

Estonian fusion band BF has taken an ambitious approach on their new album Klob: to combine studio and live recordings as well as composed and improvised materials into a complex avant-rock work. The results are mixed. Weakest spots come across as random noodling, confirming the notion that free-improv is difficult to do well. Another matter is composed material. Particularly successful are the two compositions with brass section: "Jaanalind Diana" bears affinity to Phlox' "Rebimine+Voltimine" album thanks to that band's reedman Kalle Klein's soprano saxophone lines (intertwined with trombone). The horn theme of "Vapper Tinasõdur" is simply gorgeous.

While the improvised material is anything but easy listening, there are moments. For example, the intensity during the beginning of "Korrektor" that resembles Fred Frith's avant-rock power trio Massacre. Or the chaotic trombone and backward sounds during "Kadunud Päev". Klob may not be a masterpiece, but it's often an intriguing record. And its cover artwork is superb.

Capillary Action - So Embarrassing

Capillary Action is a modern avant-garde progressive rock band from Seattle and So Embarrassing is the Jonathan Pfeffer-led band’s second album. In terms of vocal manner and jumping from style to style the parallels with Mr Bungle are instantly drawn. Other acts that sound somewhat similar are Kayo Dot, Time of Orchids and even Mars Volta at times. The band fuses math-rock, fusion, metal and progressive jazz in their music. Unlike Kayo Dot, who plays lengthy compositions, Capillary Action’s songs are short, the entire record lasts for little more than thirty minutes. Nonetheless the songs are closely tied to each other, the entire record comes across as a song cycle. Compositions sound nervous, fractured and schizophrenic. At its worst they come across as exercises in how many changes in tempo, mood and time signatures it is possible to cram into a couple of minutes. Nevertheless the music is masterfully performed, impeccable horn and string arrangements are heard and some of the moments are truly brilliant and memorable (particularly the standout track „Elevator Fuck“). Still, Kayo Dot performs in the similar avant-prog style in a more fluid and mature manner.



Capillary Action performing "Placebo or Panacea & Bloody Nose"

Yochk'o Seffer - Delire

Although Delire was not Hungarian-born Parisian multi-instrumentalist Yochk'o Seffer's first solo album, it was nonetheless the first from his project Neffesh Music (music of the soul), consisting of him as the composer and the instrumentalist along with a revolving cast of other musicians. On this album he's backed by fellow Zao cohort Jean-My Truong on drums as well as a string quartet led by Michele Margand, who also were members of Zao at the time when this album was recorded (March 1976). All other instruments are played by Yochk'o.

What sets this album apart from his previous work with Zao, as well as his future Neffesh Music projects, was the lack of electric bassist. Therefore, this album includes less fusion/jazz-rock tinge, the dominant presence of acoustic piano and strings along with saxophones clearly hints at an avant-garde chamber rock sound reminiscent of Univers Zero, Henry Cow or possibly even late sixties Frank Zappa. Even within Seffer's varied discography this album is sonically unique, but unfortunately it's overlooked in favor of his other recordings, including Ghilgoul. Nowadays one can hope to buy this record via Ebay and this can incur more-than-average expenses for one vinyl copy. It's that rare!

"Heart" opens with a staccato piano-drums-sax riff, followed by ominous and rigid strings, the atmosphere is very tense and almost Stravinsky like. The main melodic theme is established after a minute with tenor sax carrying the melody, including a bassline that sounds like rendered on fuzz-bass, but is more likely a distorted bass synth that sounds heavy and sinister nonetheless. The same theme is then repeated on strings and Seffer's unique falsetto vocalize. Halfway in the piece switches to a funky drum break backing a tenor sax solo, with interjections from synth and piano.

"Jonetsu For Judith" ("jonetsu" is Japanese for "passion") starts with lush string arrangements and beautiful chord progression, as the prominent tenor sax solos over the chords with passionate agitation. Layers like piano, synthesizer and even overdubbed harmony vocals are added. The piece moves through some tense and dissonant chords that are contrasted by freeform tenor sax. The piece concludes with a moderately fast tempo carried by strings aided with synth bass and some percussion and Seffer's tenor sax gets more intense until the piece stops.

"Orkana" begins with a rubato synthesizer solo backed by sparse piano. First hint at the main melodic themes comes with overdubbed saxophones (sopranino, soprano and tenor). Drums and piano then come in and the same theme gets a beat-heavy basis, with Seffer adding vocalize to the mix as well. This is clearly the most Henry Cowish track on the entire album, as the interplay between drums and piano is pure kinetic chamber rock bliss, with overdubbed saxophones having the lushness comparable to a wind quartet, composed themes contrast with short solos on synthesizer, tenor and sopranino saxophones and Seffer showcasing more of his unique high voice. Halfway the piece switches to a relentless synth solo over a fast drum beat that goes on for a while until the piece concludes with the instrumentation of drums, piano and soprano sax.

"Streledzia" is a short, lush piece for electric piano, vocalize, strings and includes more freeform tenor sax outing. As a modern classical piece it sounds unique with its lush, empathic chord clusters, instrumentation and Coltrane-influenced tenor sax.

While other tracks confirm that Yochk'o Seffer is capable of composing warm, empathic and highly personal forms of avant-garde music combining modern classicism, free jazz and progressive influences, on the title track he pulls all the stops and creates a fusion of atonal classicism and unstructured free-jazz that at times sounds ominous, at times rigid and at other times shows that Seffer as a pianist had a bit of a Cecil Taylor influence. Not a palatable listening, unless you love later period Coltrane and/or Zappa's least accessible classical writing.

"Ima (1ere partie)" is a prelude to his next solo album, combining the low buzzing droning noises of his self-invented sonic sculptures, out-of-control bass clarinets rattling at the background, and haunting melodies carried by Seffer's vocalize, first doubled on a Moog synth and then on tenor sax. This is a mourning piece of proto-ambient music and as a precursor to the 2o minute title track of Ima, it shows that Yochk'o Seffer could also make electronic avant-garde music very well.

Delire is a rare and forgotten record that is unjustly overlooked. Nonetheless, it shows Yochk'o Seffer's boundless creativity as a composer, instrumentalist and improviser. This work transcends the usual trappings of jazz-fusion or progressive rock.

Kayo Dot - Blue Lambency Downward

New York avant-rockers Kayo Dot are nowadays distancing themselves from both metal as well as the traditional post-rock quiet-loud structures which have seriously devalued today. Although it could be said that the earlier rockier references in Kayo Dot's work have served as an obligatory blandishments for listeners used to expect the chamber-like introspection pay off with a massive cathartic wall of sound. On Blue Lambency Downward, their third album, KD ups their ante on fluidity of free-jazz and the chamber arrangements. Instead of aimless noodling, even though the line is exceedingly thin, Toby Driver treats us to his compositions that are structurally fluid, floating and unpredictable, almost like dreams. Arrangements featuring even more prominent reed (sax, clarinet) instrumentation only help along the surrealist atmosphere of this record. It's telling that Toby Driver has polished his skills in the area of cerebral avant-rock. The result is at times remarkably similar to Tim Buckley's free-rock opus Starsailor (1970). It also confirms that Kayo Dot is nowadays perhaps the best modern equivalent to avant-prog legends Henry Cow.

*This review was published in Estonian in a journal called Postimees. This is the English translation

Yochk'o Seffer - Ghilgoul

Ghilgoul is an outstanding effort from reed-man Yochk'o Seffer (known from Zeuhl ensembles like Magma and Zao) who was in his Neffesh Music period, combining complex jazz-fusion stylings with string quartet orchestrations and his own sharp sax skills along with quite adept piano playing. Influences range from John Coltrane to Bela Bartók and Hungarian folk music. "Dag" is a highlight: one of his most accessible and memorable melodies written, a folky jaunt allied with rhythms and textures that suggest avant-prog or Rock In Opposition, along with solid jazz soloing from Seffer on soprano. "Sifra" starts with classical chamber music and transitions into a busy ensemble work with nimble rhythm section work from Dominique Bertram (bass) and Francois Laizeau (drums). Bertram wrote "Dailn" and that is the most overtly Fusion-influenced pieces, while "Larma" features Seffer's trademark falsetto vocalize, harking back to mid-period Zao. The title track is an avant-garde piece in the vein of "Ima", but less droning, combining Seffer's ghostly Ligeti-inspired overdubbed vocal harmonies, sax improvisations, keyboards and strings. The album's reissues have three bonus tracks recorded in 1980 with a different lineup, they feature Seffer extensively on piano and there's an alternate version of "Sifra", skipping the classical intro and jumping headfirst into ensemble section. Recommended for fans of RIO/Zeuhl.

Robert Wyatt - End of an Ear (1970)

End of an Ear (1970), while far from being the greatest Robert Wyatt outing, is definitely his most bizarre. His renditions of Gil Evans' "Las Vegas Tango" are excellent, containing oddly layered vocalizing set to a freewheeling drums and piano groove. One can imagine that this is what his parent band The Soft Machine could've evolved into, if only they had continued in their Dadaist leanings. This album is all about Wyatt exploring freer and more absurdity-based expressive ways going beyond the increasingly serious and instrumental confines of the Softs which Wyatt was dissatisfied with. He does not do any conventional singing here, he uses effects like tape speed alterations, reverb and echo to experiment with his voice and those voice experiments are the most interesting thing on this record.

Most of the titles are dedications to his friends and musical peers, "To Mark Everywhere", "To Saintly Bridget" are shorter ditties that are based on precise abstract rhythms and atonal noise, then the consistency gives away to free-jazz-for-free-jazz own sake in "To Oz Alien Daevid and Gilli" and "To Nick Everyone" which are really hard to endure. If you get past these two, you're treated to "To Caravan & Brother Jim", based on a consistent beat, rhythmic vocal loop and warm organ courtesy of David Sinclair, who also guests on the most beautiful tune on the album, an "Instant Pussy" re-write that is "To Carla Marsha and Caroline".

This album has some pointless free-jazz noodling, which mar the album, but otherwise it's still a rather non-conformist statement and whoever digs avant-garde music would be compelled by this record. I admire the album mostly for Gil Evans' cover versions and the beautiful David Sinclair collaborations. Overall, this is the least typical Wyatt album, as he actually was still an avant-jazz-based drummer at that stage, becoming a paraplegic several years later and concentrating on more song-based, though not less distinctive, material.

Art Bears - The World As It Is Today

Even for post-punk art rock music standards, this is fairly difficult listening. Clearly, this album is not for everyone as this type of music quite often gets unbearably heavy. But then, that's what you can pretty much expect from when you deal with musicians like the whacked-out avant-rock multi instrumentalist Fred Frith, the bizarrely wonderful percussion master Chris Cutler and last, but not least, singer Dagmar Krause (all from Henry Cow). Especially the latter has aroused some of the most contradictory opinions a vocalist can expect. An epitome of classical cabaret beauty (of the strange variety) for some, "fingernails on the chalkboard" for others. And there are moments when she blatantly tests your patience on the record. After the dissonant and mutated piano waltz "Freedom", which climaxes with Frith's angular King Crimson esque guitar feedback and Krause's utterly insane howling shrieks at times overpowering even the guitar feedback itself; i swear you shall write Yoko Ono off as a sedate lounge singer in comparison!

Elsewhere, some of the song highlights include the bizarrely memorable and melodic "The Song of Investment Capital Overseas", slightly laid-back "Truth" featuring an unorthodox use of Clavinet, dark and heavy "Democracy" capturing some of the gloomy atmosphere apparent on Henry Cow's "Western Culture" sessions without its obvious woodwind counterpoints; and "The Song of the Martyrs". This song blends gloomy keyboard chords, backward percussion and sports a bizarrely catchy chorus. Frith and Cutler form a great percussion, bass and keyboards oriented ominous and percolating 7/8 metered groove, while Krause is heard mimicking the kind of deadpan sing-speak delivery you could expect from female (post-)punk singers as she intones: "As we look about us/Things seem worse than ever". Occasionally the band delves into noise, but even the noise tracks can at times seem sonically interesting, at least moreso than some of the worst indulgences by Henry Cow, who was great with composed and structured pieces, but mostly aimless when it came to free improv.

Although not a pleasant listen, this album is nevertheless captivating here and there and needless to say, RIO fanatics definitely need this album. There's lots of great musicianship throughout the entire record and some adventurous sonic experimentation as well. Even if you find political lyrics redundant, musically this is too good to be ignored by open minded listeners.

Magma - Magma (1970)

Wot's this? Kobaian jazz? Proto-Zeuhl? Avant-garde jazz rock from another planet? However you might classify the overall style of the debut, it's remarkable that Christian Vander and co were already a kicking unit when they released their debut in 1970. What makes this stand out compared to other albums is the presence of a horn section (including flute, lots of it!), along with the combination of acoustic piano and electric guitars (with a bit of acoustic thrown in too), which makes the overall sound seem like that of an avant-jazz combo (or even big band, given the combination of seven instrumentalists backing the vocals), with a bit of rock'n'roll audacity thrown in for a good measure. Throw in the dynamic Klaus Blasquiz on lead vocals with his strong, operatic voice alternating between creepy basso profundo and manic wailing, interacting with Vander's own distinctive screeching; and you have a jazz fusion sort of album that not only works with vocals, but kind of benefits from their presence. That they sing in their own constructed language, makes it all sound even more eccentric.

The music itself is swell as well, all tracks have something to offer, whether it's the awesome riff and groove of "Kobaia", the haunting flutes of wind player Teddy Lasry's composition "Sohia", the insane vocal operatics with free-jazz backdrop on "Stoah" or the eclecticism of the multi-part "Naü Ektila", where they move from pastoral chamber music like parts to rocky grooves to folky melancholy with acoustic guitar and flutes to jazz-rock jamming with awesome horn riffage and great piano soloing. There's even an awesome Pharoah Sanders like section with shimmering percussion and jovial flute in the final composition "Müh". The music can sound alternately intense and mellow, beautiful and ugly, melodic and dissonant. For every gentle flute passage you'll get to hear strident and dangerous horn blasts. Meeting of jazz and rock implies some sort of duality co-existing and Magma's music here is a challenging array of juxtapositions. All held together by Christian Vander's kick-butt drumming. While it's all more jazz-infused and very different from Magma's later work, it's still remarkable that they pulled off a double album this compelling.