Arrington de Dionyso
(K)
On his last record with longtime band, Old Time Relijun, Arrington de Dionyso asked, amid clattering tribal percussion and brash sax skronk, "What does it mean to be human?" Here, he's searching for those same metaphysical truths-albeit without lyrics. De Dionyso's predilections for out-jazz and global sounds take the fore. Tuvan throat singing techniques that split de Dionyso's voice into low, gurgling drones and ethereal, fluid melodies mingle with bass clarinet squawks and moans from the first moments of "All Is On!" and throughout the album proper's 40-minute running time.
The extremely out-there CD-only bonus track "Les Grenouilles De Cherbourg" adds an extra 19 minutes, and feels unnecessary given the album's steady build-up to "Pluto In Capricorn (I See Beyond The Black Sun)," a 16-minute journey that eventually adds a steady rock drumbeat and unites the foreign, even alien, sounds of de Dionyso's throat-singing with Western convention. The throat-singing, a trick he's employed with Old Time Relijun, but rarely as a focal point, becomes a vehicle for de Dionyso's explorations of humanity. In effect, he's once again shown us something uniquely human-and regionally specific, to boot-by confounding our American ears' expectations with otherworldly sounds that, in fact, are easily traceable to this world.
Granted, that doesn't necessarily make for an easy-or even a pleasant-listening experience. De Dionyso's gurgles and groans and squawks and squeals offer plenty to reward the mind and body-he's a master of milking a groove from out-minded sounds-but inevitably, at least at times, come off as harsh and abrasive, as avant-garde music often does. It's hard to call that a compliment, but it's just as difficult to brand it a criticism. Suffice it to say, though, buyer beware: The sounds contained herein-deliberate though it might be-are far from accessible.
Standout Tracks: "Pluto In Capricorn (I See Beyond The Black Sun)," "All Is On!" BRYAN REED
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