BoaC's most varied sound yet.
5
By p-glassy
strongly disagree with Boolez: Track by track, this is the Bang on a Can All-Stars at their most varied. you’ve got a spectral drone track in Johansson’s Hz, you’ve got abstract improv over music concrete in Marclay’s Fade to Slide, you’ve got an orchestrated tonal ballad in Clyne’s A Wonderful Day, slapstick anti-advert comedy in Zammuto’s Real Beauty Turns, classic Michael Gordon delay patterns in Gene Takes a Drink… sounding the same? you’ve gotta be kidding.
This is the All-Stars at their best
5
By Black Ark
Disagree with Boolez. The All-Stars are taking so-called "new music" where it belongs—further into the 21st century—and demonstrating that they're one of the few "new music" ensembles that can tackle through-composed music (supplemented with *recorded samples,* no less) and make it sound consistently fresh and exciting. Marclay's "Fade to Slide" hits musique concrète, Ghys' "An Open Cage" follows Cage's own recorded voice into weird atonal melody and rhythm, and Gordon's "Gene Takes A Drink" cascades out of a waking dream. There's plenty more to discover here.
LOSING THE NARATIVE
1
By Boolez
BOAC, like Uber Hipsters Quartet Kronos, used to be steller ambassadors of new music. This current record documents their slide to irrelivance. None of the pieces grab me as they all end up sounding the same. It's depressing hearing otherwise talented musicians get to this point. -Bz
