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On the sprawling "Bye Bye Bees," plucked violin and bells play one rhythm against that of the guitar and percussion. The second guitar articulates the melodic line amid the whorled sonic layers and guest Ani Difranco's effected voice and spoken word commentaries bridge sections, while the horns pick up the melody. Sickafoose's spare piano introduces the elegiac "Pianos of the 9th Ward" and later subtly duets with his bass, the tune building emotion with Shane Endsley's muted trumpet. The leader embroiders with bells, vibes/marimba and various keys, emphasizing melodies or thickening the rhythms, each new sound supporting a composition's overall construction.
Similarly, the improvisations serve the narrative flow and are not about grandstanding. Andrew Bird's violin soars during the elegant "Cloud of Dust" and the pastoral "Whistle," with its quirky piano phrase and acoustic guitar filigrees from Adam Levy. Levy also stretches out on the swanky "Paper Trombones," with Simon Lott's shuffled snare propelling him and Alan Ferber's swaggering trombone.
In performance at New York's the Knitting Factory on May 13, 2008, the music lost some of its nuance with the modified instrumentation of single guitarist Mike Gamble, no sax and Sickafoose solely on acoustic bass. But the strong themes burst through and with more space, the improvs ventured further, particularly those of Endsley and subbing violinist Jenny Scheinman. Free sections alluding to the composed material bridged a medley of "Future Flora," "Serpentine" (an earlier composition) and "Paper Trombones," illustrating the flexibility inherent within the compositions.
Track Listing: Future Flora; Invisible Ink, Revealed; Bye Bye Bees; Pianos of the 9th Ward; Everyone is Going; Cloud of Dust; Warm Stone; Paper Trombones; Whistle; Tiny Resistors; Barnacle.
Personnel: Shane Endsley: trumpet; Ben Wendel: tenor sax, bassoon; Alan Ferber: trombone; Skerik: baritone sax (5,8); Adam Levy: guitar, acoustic guitar; Mike Gamble: guitar, effects; Allison Miller: drums (2,3,11), percussion (5-10); Simon Lott: drums (1, 4-10), percussion (2,3,11); Andrew Bird: violin, looping, whistling; Ani Difranco: voice, telephone mic (3), electric ukulele (4); Todd Sickafoose: acoustic and electric bass, piano, wurlitzer, vibraphone, marimba, bells, celeste, accordion through a Leslie.
Title: Tiny Resistors | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Cryptogramophone