Chicago Underground Duo - Axis and Alignment
(Thrill Jockey)
After a ton of incredible Chicago Underground albums, in their various
forms (Duo, Trio, Quartet, Orchestra), I approach each one with increasing
trepidation. I don't know exactly why, but I expect the next one to
always be too far out. Maybe it's because they play so close to the edge,
there is always the danger that they will fall over it. It is this very
quality, however, that makes their music so very compelling. So, fretting
notwithstanding, this is yet another incredible record.
As the Duo (Chad Taylor, drums, vibraphones and guitar, and Rob Mazurek,
cornet, electronics and piano), though, there is the other problem of how
to follow up the previous Duo record, Synesthesia, an absolute
masterpiece (note: in my original review of Synesthesia I
inexplicably gave it a 10 out of a possible 12, when, in hindsight, it so
clearly deserves at very least an 11, if not a 12—as so often, only
time can tell in such matters). In this regard, as in the formerly
discussed, fortunately, the Duo acquits themselves admirably.
Good portions of this record are not as progressive (read: difficult) as
some other Chicago Underground releases; more structured, focused
songwriting, not as free. The record opens with the luminously beautiful
"Micro Exit," where the Chad Taylor's vibraphones ring and shimmer like
otherworldly transmissions, and Rob Mazurek's terrestrial cornet
plaintively answers their call. "Lifelines" is a solid, jaunty neo-bop number (I
cribbed that from other
Chicago Underground reviewers, does it sound hep?), that opens up
in lively improv towards the end. Phreakz need not worry, however, as the
wild stuff is still in abundance. "Particle and Transfiguration," for
instance, is a bold, firey number that burns itself out, and "Average
Assumptions and Misunderstandings" is an apt title for the free-form piano
and vibraphone romp it represents (not to mention the fundamentally
bizarre "Lem").
The biggest step forward for the Duo is the new and increased use of
electronics. Some of this was hinted at on Synesthesia, but it is
on this new record where it really blossoms. "Exponant Red" employs an
electronic bouncing bass line that keeps the song anchored, which frees
Taylor and Mazurek to explore the outer reaches of the tune without
sacrificing form. In "Two Concepts for the Storage of Light," after a
lengthy free and expansive portion, an edgy electronic bass line pops up,
and the song coalesces into focus, driving and aggressive. This song
encapsulates the many aspects of Chicago Underground in a single track.
It is the spiritual center and definite highlight of the album.
Rob Mazurek has spoken of his desire to abandon all demarcations of music:
no jazz, no rock, no pop, no nothing, just sound. The Chicago Underground
(both specifically this group, but, really, also the larger collective of
Chicago post-rock and fakejazz musicians with whom they are associated)
has more perfectly accomplished this than any other musician of which I am
currently aware. Axis and Alignment is for anyone who loves music
(as is Synesthesia).
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