Ernesto Diaz-Infante & Chris Forsyth: Wires and Wooden Boxes

Ernesto Diaz-Infante and Chris Forsyth take this idea as their lead concept for their second collaboration, aptly named Wires and Wooden Boxes. The opener features Diaz-Infante playing reflective held piano chords while Forsyth pulls his amp cord in and out of the jack on his guitar. It's interesting, but the end result falls a bit short. More intriguing are the pieces where these two players coax higher-order melodic and harmonic structures out of their instruments—like the intensely interactive, clustral "Straight To It," or the neo-folk tune "Passing One Another." Music this wildly experimental always relies upon open ears to communicate its message. While I find much of it curious (and at times brilliant), there are also plenty of moments where I can only shake my head. If you're willing to take the plunge, this record offers an extremely—if sometimes indulgently—creative take on string music in all its rich variety. The ideas that work on Wires and Wooden Boxes are timelessly beautiful. You can always hit the fast forward button on the rest.

Visit Pax Recordings on the web.