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ALBUM REVIEWS November 27, 2014

Dylan Ryan / Sand: Circa

Following up the well-received Sky Bleached (2012, Cuneiform Records), drummer Dylan Ryan and his trio continue their full-blown aerial assault on conventional power trio mechanisms. Think of spaced out jazz rock with asymmetrical doses of Black Sabbath, avant- garde breakouts, and brooding rhythmic tirades, culminated with the art of improvisation. Guitarist Timothy Young's (Wayne Horvitz, David Sylvian) sustain driven single note lines, howling plaintive cries and grizzly crunch chords ride atop Ryan and bassist Devon Hoff's forceful manifesto, modeled with ...

ALBUM REVIEWS October 29, 2014

Dylan Ryan / Sand: Circa

By Troy Collins

Sand is the latest project from forward-thinking drummer Dylan Ryan, leader and principal composer of Herculaneum, a progressive ensemble that skillfully negotiates the tenuous divide between avant-garde jazz and instrumental post-rock. This smaller lineup (featuring guitarist Timothy Young and bassist Devin Hoff) evinces a similar aesthetic, exploring the harmonic, melodic and rhythmic intricacies of creative improvised music at volume levels more akin to rock than traditional jazz.Compared to Sky Bleached (Cuneiform, 2013), the eclectic first meeting of these ...

ALBUM REVIEWS August 10, 2014

Dylan Ryan / Sand: Circa

By Robert Bush

Circa is the second effort from drummer Dylan Ryan's trio Sand, featuring guitarist Timothy Young and bassist Devin Hoff, extending the concepts established on the 2012 release, Bleached Sky. If you've ever pondered what Crazy Horse or Robin Trower might sound like with an acoustic bassist and a dynamically sensitive drummer, Circa provides an answer. The Nels Cline Singers are another obvious reference, although Young is a much different guitarist. Young comes ...