Sun City Girls - A Bullet Through the Last Temple
(Abduction)

Most of this recording definitely falls into the jazz category, with the Girls working in the jazz quartet mode, driven by Charlie Gocher's drums and Rick Bishop's piano. The group is accentuated on most tracks by either David Carter (trumpet) and Teri Nelson Zagar (upright bass), which turns out to be a very interesting jazz ensemble. The faster, more fierce jazzy parts hinted at on Volume 3's final tracks are not represented here, but rather a more subdued style that isn't dull, but rather active.

This CD lacks instrument credits, but I would guess Alan Bishop is playing sax, as the piano playing is reminiscent of Rick Bishop’s amazing solo CD Salvador Kali. This eastern/ethnic influenced style (not dissimilar to his guitar explorations) gives each piece a strange modal feel that lends comparison to Alice Coltrane's work.

The fidelity on this recording is better than the other Carnival Folklore Resurrection releases so far--and better than some of their albums--as it's recorded in a studio like the other releases. Scott Colburn's production brings out everything and sounds remarkably crisp.

"In the Bosom of Uncle" may sound more familiar to Sun City Girls fans--a loose but quiet piece, with strange mumbled vocals and odd percussion, the track sounds like the Art Ensemble of Chicago if they were more Dadaist. The track is quite different than the rest of the disc, as horns seem to be the central element on A Bullet Through the Last Temple.

It's great to listen to how the Sun City Girls play against each other. The lengthy title track, which closes the disc, features some lazy interactions between the piano and drums that demonstrate how well this band, which has been playing together for something like 15 years, can understand each other's instant compositions. This is my favorite release of the series so far, though it would probably not serve as a good introduction to the Sun City Girls.

john fail 2000 oct 27