More punked Euclid from these veterans. Guitars (and in UA’s case, delicious Jan
Hammer-ish Moog) trace complex counterpoint, while drums jerk surgically through
time signatures, the ghosts of Bartok and Prokofiev calling the harmonic and rhythmic
shots. Sure it’s geeky. But good math, served with plenty of energy, is interesting
at least for it’s abstract formalism - it’s the shape and structure that make you
feel good, not some pre-established emotion-code. And both these groups show they
are perfectly capable of cutting loose from composition. HRMAG pepper their side
with tight, mini-improv workouts, while UA devote half their side to a noisy free
jazz diatribe close in spirit to the maelstrom of Carlos Giffoni’s Death Unit.
WIRE
Is it war, or a marriage made in heaven? In the blue corner, undisputed (effing)
world champs of avant/math/prog, six albums and no knockouts, its LA originals Upsilon
Acrux. In the red corner, from the mean streets of Chatham, Kent, Great Britain,
coming out of nowhere, the contenders, Honey Ride Me A Goat! This is no-holds-barred
purist instrumental complex rock, done the Upsilon Acrux way: big chunky slabs of
texture and colour, hunks of riffage like the rubble of kickass history welded together
into new monoliths. Opening track of the Upsilon side, Acetate Of Puppets, sounds
straight out of the sessions that make up their recent Radian Futura album. The follower
starts off that way - gleeful Yes/earlyGenesis fragmentations - that eventually degenerates
happily into a monstrous psychedelic wig-out (entitled Caspar Brotzmann of Faux-Hawks)
worthy of the first ‘White Noise’ album that extends to fifteen delerious minutes.
Flip over the this lovely heavy slab of lush 12" white vinyl and you get four tracks
from Honey Ride Me A Goat. I'm dead proud of them. This takes the original Upsilon
Acrux mathematical model (be stupidly complex, but know where you're going and put
the melody first) and applies it to their own twisted psyches. It's heavier, a little
more stripped down as they're a three-piece. I'm Not A Packhorse is the standout
track, displaying something that Upsilon Acrux used to have in spades, something
they’ve maybe lost a bit in comparison to their earlier albums: not just time and
texture changing, but big dynamic variety, the feel you get from slowing and speeding
and hanging back. Honey Ride Me A Goat do it magnificently on I'm Not A Packhorse
- they take a manic, repetitive riff and hack and squeeze it into increasingly odd
shapes, keeping clarity by dropping out guitar or punctuating with dots of silence,
keeping it interesting by meticulously crafted structure - odd times and Frippian
counterpoint you can bang head to. The melodies/riffs have an obsessive, ingrowing-hair
quality, a bunch of notes having an argument with themselves. Ace Hazelnut is another
cracking track, and after their own psyched out noise contribution resume the adventure
with Sloth Putty which ends up a bit like Nought but happier and less uncomfortably
relentless. Honey Ride Me A Goat are bursting with the energy of a band just getting
into their stride and lovin it.
Who win’s? Everyone, the outcome's a draw, which
means this 12" is an essential and thrilling artifact for the avantly inclined -
if not least for the insert with the band photos. Upsilon Acrux look completely if
unintentionally mad, Honey Ride Me A Goat have a gun. Both are obviously delighted
to be in bed together.
ORGAN
Kitchen Dweller are on to something with this little split 12" EP. Coupling up the
mathematical and melodic precision of Upsilon Acrux and Honey Ride Me A Goat on one
release is pure genius. If you like unnecessarily complex math-rock then you are
gonna dig the Upsilon Acrux stuff, these guys shred and sway there way through two
tracks of mind boggling and, frankly, quite cheeky tunes with intense power and vigor....It
must take a millennia to work out these arrangements at practice. Honey Ride Me A
Goat hold their own on side two and prove that us Brits can do tech-shred-madness
just as well as the yanks. They sound like King Crimson re-working '21st Century
Schizoid Man' in a hundred different ways. Totally fucking sweet!
NORMAN RECORDS
Uuummm, yummy milky-white vinyl. And with a name like that you’d probably feel confident
in exclaiming “Progging ‘eck”. Anyone who has ever had any interest in anything instrumentally
free-jazz or prog over the last 30 odd years will be quite happy twiddling their
beard-ends to this. Beefheart, Zappa, early 70s Gabriel-era Genesis, The Cardiacs
and many others are thrown into the mix and there’s still room for some space rock
offshoots of zapness. If you like Quack Quack or Bilge Pump, you’ll like what’s going
on here, oh yes.
TASTY
The term Math Rock sounds somehow terrible. Music for the Math Leistungskurs, rock
for people who go to bed and using a pocket where it can happen before, that they
forgot to remove before putting on their jackets tasteless to the hanger. Who sowas
mag must be rightly be accused that it has to do with Rock had nothing on at all
times and it surely can not be that one's counting exotic bars worth listening appears
to be the AbHotten to sweat testosterone grenades.
Especially Upsilon Acrux are one of those bands that seem to have their music so
no sex. Your music sounds cold and emotionless, because time is hardly a guitar really
distorted, confused scales instead be patted onto the fingerboard, as sounding Moog,
who had never really sexy when tied to the fingers of a bass player, while the drummer
sounds as he would actually play a different piece. That someone who held sowas also
very lovable and can even be humorous, one can read off the Californians on the often
quirky song titles, or the fact that instead of a band photos on the last album,
‘Radian Futura’ a very childish and naive drawing from the written by drummer Chris
Meszler participated. Also, its highly idiosyncratic cover version of Queen's ‘Bicycle
Race’ in this regard speaks volumes.
As can be but for nearly every sexual variation found lovers, there are also people
who find math rock and just Upsilon Acrux geil. And how this is so, then there are
like-minded people often. Upsilon Acrux from Los Angeles, USA and Honey Ride Me a
Goat from Kent, England did this, in autumn 2009 when the Americans were travelling
in Europe, though in fact, hardly anyone was really waiting for them. They found
each other congenial, praised each other band in the highest tones, and arranged
in a jolly mood this same split pub, then thanks to the initiative of the trio from
Kent came sooner achieved than might have been thought that perhaps, because normally
extend these ideas not infrequently in the sand when you're sober and well rested.
Look beautiful is the result of any event ever - completely black cover and inside
a white vinyl windows. Very stylish indeed! And music is also on it:Upsilon Acrux
are two songs. ‘Acetate Of Puppets’ is downright catchy and could have found the
‘Radian Futura’ his place. That ‘Caspar Brötzmann of Faux-Hawks’ is a relatively
more ambitious song, it is already clear that this mitmischen two guest musicians.
However, while (saxophone!) Mike Armstrong, the band sound so well advanced that
it is smooth wishes he were still here, makes Peter Kolovos on his guitar cases for
which we (as listeners) are quite on it should be. In the liner notes, this is with
"things that do not sound like guitar but so clearly is" what should demonstrate
once again that the band are far less seriously than that implied in their music.
Only stupid, that song is followed by five minutes almost entirely psychedelic noise-chaos
before the end of even very briefly make a little music. Schade, a third piece of
real I would have preferred.
In direct comparison to the more hyper-intellectual arg Ami quintet sound Honey Ride
Me a Goat, the four songs to contribute, much more casual, but that has certainly
to do with the trio cast, for the three of you just come directly to your destination
and not constructed. They will also hear from a corner that has more to do with with
metal as an alternative to (UA are indeed often rather put in this drawer, where
you could argue about my opinion also excellent). Particularly striking is the great
guitar work, which for some reason I always think of Stinking Lizaveta leaves. At
least that would be a band that might go well with the HRMAG on tour. While ‘Ace
Hazelnut’ and ‘I'm Not a Pack Horse’ comes along rather hectic eclectic-flowing ‘Jipper
Flow’ and ‘Sloth Putty’ tough and bleak from the speakers, which constricts the
four songs from a relatively rounded package.
A total of one point victory for Honey Ride Me a Goat, but this is probably also
point out that the last record of Upsilon Acrux's not so old and Upsilon Acrux still
sounds just as Upsilon Acrux. Benefit think you should UA, however, that no other
band like it sounds, while not quite as HRMAG own and play some more typical Math
Rock, as it was known from bands like Don Caballero.The British offer to split the
joint but with a little less playing time just a little more music. And maybe while
they put a little bit more sexiness into the balance ...!?
BABYBLAUE-SEITEN (Translation)
