Cerberus Shoal and the Magic Carpathians - The Life and Times of The Magic Carpathians and Cerberus Shoal EP
(North East Indie)
The fourth in a continuing series of collaborations between our avant garde hippie weirdos from Maine and the international community of like-minded musicians they've encountered on their various tours, Life and Times begins like an episode of 24, recapping "the story so far" with the head-scratching exercise in futility called "Pre-Face." Believe me, if you haven't been following this series, this certainly won't help. Suffice it to say I think they met their Polish counterparts when they shared a bill with them in San Francisco.
The Carpathians track, "Continuumed" was previously released on their Water Dream collection, so this EP will mainly be of interest to CB completists. For those who missed it, I had this to say:
Finally, a special mention of "Continuum" is warranted to call attention to guest Patrycja Kujawska's sometimes manic, gypsy-like violin playing, which manages the mean feat of borrowing several bars from the repetitive, staccato riff of Steven Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, and deploying them in subtle nuances that recall the best of Godspeed You Black Emperor. Toss Anna [Nacher]'s vocal exorcisms that range from a mantric "Om" to a Hindu call to prayer over the top and you've got a heady cauldron of unbridled estrogen just waiting to burst over your eardrums and down your spine.
As you can guess, it's the best thing on the EP. As for the CBs, their two tracks, "Respoonced" and "J.B.E.G.S." are reportedly the soundtracks to an unrealized film script and if that description sounds vaguely familiar, yes, all you Olivia Tremor Control freaks will love this. In fact, "Life and Times" may be the most Elephant 6-ish of all the Shoal releases, combining the musique concrete and found sounds of the Black Swan Network and The Music Tapes. Like a horrific traffic accident, it's at times both unbearably unlistenable, yet curiously fascinating. There's simply no way to predict where the "music" will head next.
Recommended to fans of extremely difficult, non-linear, atonal, sounds from the deepest black holes of outer space, as well as the more experimental, avant garde recordings of Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel. All others, proceed with caution.
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