Gutbucket
Sludge Test
Cantaloupe Music
2006

It's not often that you'll listen to a hardcore jazz-rock outfit transcribing classical composer Olivier Messiaen's "Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes. But as it stands, this high-octane quartet pulls it off, although the correlation might not be overtly noticeable upon the first few listens. Yet, these folks mean business via their intense ensemble play, abetted with quirky time changes and in-your-face soloing. And the good news is, that this band's heady arrangements coupled with silly song titles, translates into an action-packed and somewhat lighthearted affair. It's akin to thrash jazz-rock, highlighting the artists' conveyance of good-cheer to complement their energetic artisanship.

Zero Crossing
My Kinda Funk
Groove Attack
2006

Germany's Zero Crossing (Andreas Angerer) garners some assistance from rapper Kool Keith and others during these funk-drenched mixes. With synth strings, compact beats, and spacey spoken word overlays, the main ingredient resides within the snazzy funk-bass sequences. Angerer implements some colorific background treatments, but the outing is more about snap, punch and in-the-pocket rhythmic exercises. It's entrenched within the dance/party genre and not quite as compelling for the traditional, sit-down listening experience. Angerer doesn't chart newfound terrain here. With that notion in mind, the listener might be apt to dance the night away, as Angerer mimics the rhythms of life with a funky, electronics-induced slant.

Slave to the System
Slave to the System
Spitfire
2006

The quartet is comprised of metal-rock bands Queensryche and Brother Cane. And the premise for this album—as the title indicates—is centered upon the "corporate system, where artistic control is generally sacrificed. Therefore, when the musicians hashed out the format and songs for this album, they just let their creative juices flow. Sure, the music firmly resides within the metal category, but tips a bit more towards the progressive schema. Constructed upon power-packed bass, drums and guitar motifs, the music generally surges onward via knotty time signatures. Add to that, guitarists Damon Johnson and Kelly Gray emphatic vocalizations. The band integrates a few catchy hooks into the grand scope of matters. However, it's fairly apparent that they are doing their own thing, sans any dictation from record company marketing honchos. The overall results are generally satisfying.

Vinny Golia Quartet
Sfumato
Clean Feed
2006

Recorded in 2003 at a Lisbon, Portugal studio; Southern California based woodwind specialist Vinny Golia parallels his visually oriented artistic proclivities with this high-flying jazz romp. Featuring longtime associates; trumpeter Bobby Bradford, bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Alex Cline, this energized modern/free jazz set cuts to the chase. Brimming with raw power and intersecting thematic frenzies, the band's methodology consists of counterbalancing frameworks and rapidly moving dialogues. Here, Golia and Bradford dissect motifs into subdivisions, propelled by the rhythm section's polyrhythmic aplomb.

Push the Triangle
Cos La Machina 1
D' Autres Cordes
2005

This French quintet pushes the envelope while garnering high-marks for originality and breadth of implementation. Franck Vigroux cranks out atypical avant-rock sounds from his electric guitar and turntables. As the remainder of the band comprises, cornet- drums-saxophone-vocals. It's easily one of the more captivating music marvels of 2005, where the band's experimentalism spans rock, free-jazz, and classical concepts. Howling guitars seek a happy medium with difficult time navigations and wild jazz parts. The ensemble's genre bashing transforms into an unswerving makeup, spiced with stabs at humor and a quasi, electronic-organic tone. They even fuse indigenous folk/rock musings into the heart of matters. Three cheers are in order for an ensemble that transcends a good deal of experimental muck, surfacing within European and American music circles. Given the unorthodox chain of events, these folks somehow seem to pull it all together.

Malcolm Goldstein & Masashi Harada
Soil
Emanem
2005

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