I'll confess: The CD comes in a slim cardboard slipcase with no insert or anything, just a tracklist and minimal band information on the back with some faint illustrations that look like machinery diagrams or something... and it looks really bland/uninteresting, so I put off listening to this for awhile because I was afraid it would suck. But in fact, it's quite nice. This instrumental quartet creates some excellent melodic atmospheres with experimental undertones at the hands of drums, bass, guitars, pedals, and loops. The use of what I assume is an EBow in "Reoccurring Girl" is fucking astounding - lending a totally gorgeous progressive sort of edge to the track. Some of the tracks are a bit more loose, using a lot of feedback and drones and such, while others are more "traditional" in a sense, creating almost straightforward compositions with guitars handling the melody and the rhythm section holding tight in the rear. I think the band is at their best when they fuse the two, as some of the less musical pieces like the 11+ minute "Name Your Deepest Pool" aren't all that interesting during certain segments, but combination tracks like "A Life in Scales and Graphs" almost come off as this spacey sort of prog rock/indie fusion that really flows beautifully. "Middle Pillar" introduces vocal samples and some almost tribal drumming, and "To Enjoy More Power Bass Sound" uses some programmed percussion, so there are some other little nuances at work here that are quite curious, if not quite fully developed just yet... The recording isn't too shabby either. It's very clear and natural with a lot of brightness and lush midrange, and the drums are really resonant with a dry sort of kick going on. The bass could stand to play a larger role in the mix, but the guitars sound excellent. Color me impressed. I love being wrong in cases like this, and there's nothing about this CD that is what I expected it would be. Definitely look into this if you're interested in something outside the norm.
[self-released]
Running time - 58:25, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Gone, Woke Up to the Sound of A..., Reoccurring Girl, A Life in Scales and Graphs]
A Five and Dime Ship - http://www.afiveanddimeship.com
