a r t i s t : Buke and Gass
t i t l e : Riposte
d a t e : 2010
l a b e l : brassland
g e n r e : Indie
r l s. d a t e : Oct/2010
t r a c k s : 14
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 59,0 MB
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Rispote is the debut album of the instrument-building, genre
defying duo of Buke and Gass, whose music is loud yet folky,
polyrhythmic yet melodic.
Brandon Stosuy of Stereogum writes, "They both handle all
sorts of foot percussion. The sounds are then filtered and
processed, etc. It's compelling watching them kick and
strum...but it was Arone Dyer's waling, uplifting, melodic
voice that left the biggest impression on me. You hear Beth
Ditto for a second (one who races/fixes bikes and builds her
own instruments, doesn't hang out at fashion shows), Kathleen
Hannah in those Bikini Kill days, Throwing Muses, something
else, etc., an overall joy."
(www.brassland.org/album.php?catno=024)
ThereÆs an odd space where certain traditions overlap: the
avant-garde, the handcrafted, the anti-authoritarian. Last
year saw the reissue of Scrabbling at the Lock, The ExÆs 1991
collaboration with cellist Tom Cora. ItÆs dissonant and
jarring, yet also strangely beautiful in places ù that extra
element changing The ExÆs music just slightly, opening it up
to a strange new dynamism that, almost 20 years after it was
first recorded, still feels unlike anything else.
I mention said collaboration here because Buke & GassÆs debut
feels evocative of it. At times, the interplay of Arone Dyer
and Aron Sanchez recalls the duels between fractured guitars
and ragged cello heard so memorably on Scrabbling at the Lock.
As debuts go, itÆs a deeply assured one, very likely due to
Sanchez and DyerÆs previous time together as members of the
obsessive avant-punk band Hominid a few years earlier. That
the duo makes their own instruments also contributes to the
surreal iconoclasm of their sound: thereÆs a sweep to their
strumming, a rootedness to their picking, that remains
elusive, defying easy classification. In some ways, the duoÆs
creation of their own instruments recalls Tune-Yards; that
SanchezÆs vocals are in a similar register to those of Merrill
Garbus might also play a part in this analogy.
Yet thereÆs a savagery to the playing here that unquestionably
puts this in a punk rock tradition. ThereÆs the low-end squall
putting momentum into ôMedicinaö and the frantically strummed
ôBundletuckö; the Branca-as-chamber-pop salvo thatÆs opener
ôMedulla Obllongataö and the obsessive, frenetic rattle of
ôOutt!.ö There are also some moments of quiet beauty: ôRed
Hood Came Home,ö for instance, could pass for an outtake from
Petra Haden and Bill FrisellÆs 2003 collaboration. And what
sounds like an infuriated accordion adds a rich background to
the hectic ôYour Face Left Before You.ö
At times, there can be an over-reliance on an organic-sounding
push-pull rhythm here; on the surface, a few of RiposteÆs
songs do have a tendency to blur together after a few listens.
But when everything comes together ù as on the aforementioned
ôOutt!,ö which builds and builds, effectively ending the album
on an exhausted, triumphant note ù itÆs a mesmerizing project.
And it stands as proof that the marriage of ingenuity,
aggression and a push toward musical bliss can still yield
unexpected results.
By Tobias Carroll
(www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5965)
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01-Medulla Oblongata [02:18]
02-Medicina [04:00]
03-Your Face Left Before You [03:50]
04-Naked Cities [03:11]
05-Sleep Gets Your Ghost [04:38]
06-Revel In Contempt [04:56]
07-Red Hood Came Home [04:57]
08-Horse Head Nebula [00:32]
09-Immoral But Just Fine, Okay [03:58]
10-Neurosis + Her Sisters [00:37]
11-Bundletuck [03:56]
12-Page Break [01:52]
13-Outt! [04:10]
14-"Heart" [00:39]
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43:34 min