Cantaloupe Records 21021
If you saw this CD title and clicked on the
review link, you'll probably enjoy this disc. If
you're expecting political commentary, though, you
might be disappointed to find that Gutbucket is an
all-instrumental proposition. However, you probably
already have the right idea about what songs with
titled like "O.J. Bin Laden" and "War on Drugs" will
sound like: agitated, fast-paced numbers without
letup.
A thoroughly NYC sax/guitar/bass/drums quartet,
Gutbucket makes thrashing, skittering jazz/rock. The
sound resembles both "downtown" Zorn-type music and,
for you oldsters, King Crimson in their "Schizoid Man"
saxophone days. Occasionally, we get the ironic
breakdown into a sentimental passage — otherwise, it's
wall-to-wall squealing, odd meters, off-kilter
ostinatos and crunchy riffs. A good indication of Ken
Thomson's saxophone style comes in the title cut when
he interrupts his squonky solo to actually scream
vocally, and guitarist Ty Citerman mangles and chops
the strings.
The only issue here is that, for a listener such as
this one, a dissonant riff in 7/4 is not necessarily
much fresher on the ears than a 12-bar blues or a love
song. After a while, the tone of Dry Humping the
American Dream becomes wearyingly unvaried. Bassist
Eric Rockwin gets half the composition credits, but
Thomson, for all his frenzy, hints at calmer, more
melodic terrain with his two contributions, and
Citerman delivers the token mellow (though not pretty)
cut with the penultimate number, "Another World is
Possible." Perhaps it's a matter of finding a more
balanced program the next time out, or perhaps putting
this one into shuffle mode.
These guys do what they do with chops and energy, and
they can't be in it for the money, so hats off. A bit
more variety and musicality, though, might be the key
to take this relationship beyond dry humping.
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