Magnet Animals, Butterfly Killer

What can I say about Magnet Animals? They are an avant alt band that consists of the two killer electric guitarists Todd Clouser and Eyal Maoz (the latter's music I have covered pretty extensively on these pages), Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz on electric bass in a strong forward moving mode, and drummer Jorge Servin putting a hard spin on the rhythm.

Todd does the vocals and they are spoken, poetic, sort of abstract for what you'd expect in lyrics with this kind of music, but not the less interesting for it.

The guitars do all kinds of wonderful things, from neo-surf to space-out kinetics. They are why this album appears on this blog. It's contemporary-retro psychedelic-revisionist musical slabs of being elsewhere while you are here.

It's first tier and unexpected. There is nothing quite like it out there. Four musical planets in orbit around a cool place! Get it.

Hypercolor, with Eyal Maoz

A rather incredible drum sequence kicks off the new fusion album, the inaugural album by the trio Hypercolor (self-titled) (Tzadik 4007) and we are off to the races, so to speak. This is a very well-balanced, daring threesome of Eyal Maoz on electric guitar, James Ilgenfritz on electric bass and Lukas Ligeti on drums. I've covered Eyal and his guitar innovations here before (type name in search box above). Hypercolor is a group that balances the Eyal way of playing with a group orientation and a compositional fluidity.

Eyal uses vibrato, variable attack and an individual sense of sound to get his very characteristic style, which you can hear to great advantage on this trio outing. The music has an avant surf element, psychedelic largess, and a driving hard rock temperament to carve a group sound.

Ligeti is a drummer who has far more than a backbeat orientation here. There are lots of interesting things he does throughout. Ilgenfritz holds down the center and keeps things rock solid while doing worthy things as well.

There are free avant touches in here--it isn't all rhythmically straightforward, but also tumblingly free. And Maoz can take it out at times and does. There is also a touch of semitic tonality reflecting Israeli roots.

But all that may be true of a number of fusion outfits playing today. What sets Hypercolor apart is real originality. Eyal is fast becoming one of my favorite fusion guitarists because he refuses to stay with the given. He is one of a kind and Hypercolor is that, too.

Have I said enough to pique your interest? This is an excellent outing!

Abraxis, Psychomagia, Abraxis Plays John Zorn

Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz leads the band Abraxis on a trippy sort of journey into the land of Psychomagia (Tzadik), which is in fact their second album, consisting entirely of the music of John Zorn.

Aram Bajakian and Eyal Maoz play some very excellent out psycho-delicatessen electric guitars as the band gives us a sort of Jewish-meets-surf-meets-wired-out-psychedelia mix that is nigh irresistible.

Zorn and this very capable band of gypsys give us something that works exceptionally well. The mix of styles sounds completely natural, the guitar work is blisteringly hot half the time, then crisply surf-oriented, depending on the moment.

It's what makes New York more than a melting pot. For melting is all well and good, and other people do it elsewhere all the time, but it's critical what you do with the melt, as any tuna melt fan knows only too well.

This melt is beautifully worked. I find myself smiling every time I hear it. It's not that easy to make me smile every time out! This does that.

9 Volt, Open Circuit, Parker/Maoz/Halevy & Berne

In today's shifting constellations of associations, groups, projects and albums in improvisational music, it's sometimes hard to keep track of who is with who. But when something is exceptional you forget all about the befores and afters and get into the moment.

That's what's happening to me as I listen to 9 Volt and their Open Circuit (OutNow 010) album. Rick Parker, his trombone and electronic enhancement, and Eyal Maoz, guitarist who does not eschew effects, form the core of the band, joined by Yonadav Halevy on drums and the everybody-knows-him Tim Berne on alto.

Parker and Maoz share the writing duties here and there is one collective composition-improvisation. The music is compositionally-conceptually strong to start with. It's an avant electric storm of well-conceived sound. Both Parker and Maoz make outstanding use of their electronic bag to create thoughtful storms and baroque-like walls of sound. Halevy drums with the perfect feel, gutsy and blown out or soundcoloratura as needed. Tim Berne sounds wonderful as always.

Eyal Maoz has blown me away for some time as a guitarist that has direction. Parker is right there too. Put them together here with the wonderful Maestro Berne and the suprising, inventive Maestro Halevy and you've got a tough-aced album. It's way out there in the very best electric fashion!