Gloceknspiel: Dupleix (2012)

GLENN ASTARITA,

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

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Published: August 3, 2012

Track review of "Dupleix"

This UK-based duo presents an anarchistic overture, spanning vintage Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, avant psychedelic, free-metal, and a host of other genre-busting maneuvers on the artists' largely, high-impact second effort. With guerilla tactics, edgy drones and heavily fuzzed-out electric guitar voicings, the duo turns up the heat via knotty time signatures and fractured rhythms.

They paint a broad soundscape on the title track. Marked by swarming electronics and linear momentum, the music comprises densely populated sub-themes with variances in pitch and asymmetrical progressive-metal burnouts. It's akin to an acid trip gone awry, as the duo induces a mind-altering haze of propositions, spiced with feedback and ambient soundscapes. Approaching the finale, the musicians settle down and execute a droning fadeout into a blissful state of consciousness.

Fans of New York City's downtown scene, the zany experimental rock occurring in Europe, or a plugged-in mode of the fabled British free-jazz scene may find a great deal of value with this unit's bizarre stylizations. Indeed, an entertaining whiz-bang type outing.

Personnel: Adrian Dollemore: guitar; Steve d'Enton: drums.

Record Label: Babel Label