Avant-garde music has always been something for a relatively small group of listeners, a musical artform that can be rather dissonant, noisy, and unmelodic, rarely taking the shape or form of common song based structures. Then again, there are acts that perform an even more extreme form of avant-garde, of which The Epicureans certainly fall into. This trio, whose new album A Riddle Within a Conundrum Within a Game is out now on Public Eyesore Records, simply fails to meet any sort of criteria that would qualify it as music. Even after giving it 5 spins (and I've sat through a lot of releases from Public Eyesore over the years, none of them being easy listening by any means), there's nothing here that's remotely pleasing to the ears. Dave Gross (sax), Ricardo Donoso (drums), and Ryan McGuire (bass), have put together six tracks of noise, the first half of the CD barely registers a blip on the audio counter, slight tinkering of cimbals & drums while bass strings are scraped against, while the last two pieces, "Blade of Fury" and "H.S." brings to mind images of what a herd of dinosaurs farting might sound like, Gross' bleating, squonking sax and McGuire's bass practically unrecognizable, instead rumbling like bad gas being squeezed out between many butt cheeks. Sounds harsh? Well, I'm all for saying that there's a market out there for just about anything, and you have to give these guys credit for REALLY going out there with this, but in the end I'd have a hard time recommending this flatulent nightmare to even the most loyal avant-garde lover out there. From what they've presented, the listener has no clue that they know how to play their instruments, let alone write a tune. Next time guys, give us a little something extra...please?
Track Listing
1) cumulative wound
2) awn
3) the crucial loss of connectedness
4) delayed appearance of putrefaction
5) blade of fury
6) h. s.
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