On
No Such Animal
, guitarist
Tim Mungenast
breaks with his
psychedelic pop
past by recruiting saxman
Ken Field
(
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
) and the rhythm section from
Cul de Sac
Michael Bloom
on bass and
Jon Proudman
on drums) for an album of completely improvised music, but this is no furious free-for-all blowing session. These guys are all excellent listeners, and take a completely cooperative approach to making music. The songs evolve slowly; it's nearly five minutes into
"Debut Sea"
before any real soloing starts and even then, there's never a hint of grandstanding.
"The Iron Bell"
is a sparse track with a very Asian use of silence and space featuring flute,
Mungenast
's prepared guitar, and
Bloom
's bass harmonics with
Proudman
leaving his kit in favor of a couple gongs.
"Luminous/Ominous"
has the rhythm section setting up an easy groove for
Field
's excellent flute and sax work, with
content to wait nearly eight minutes before really making his presence felt on a really nice solo with some interesting tapping work (which is closer to
Frank Zappa
than
Eddie Van Halen
).
"Sitar-Tha"
has
playing electric and slide sitar in conversation with
's alto over a simple vamp that gets stretched and contracted. The album builds in intensity, culminating with
"Mungulator Ritual,"
where
adopts one of the sickest, most deranged guitar tones imaginable with
attempting to match him with a tart tone and multiphonics in front of a surging, insistent rhythm that recalls the end of
"If 6 Was 9."
It's an impressive set that has got to be one of the most egoless sessions ever recorded. Well done. ~ Sean Westergaard