DOWSING ANEMONE WITH COPPER TONGUE

All too many times reviews that use taglines such as "strikingly original", "one of a king", and "truly unique" are describing a piece of music that is quite the opposite. However, given what I've heard, it's fair to say that Kayo Dot sounds un-akin to much else perhaps besides Toby Driver's other work. Although, even then the similarities are more in vision than in sound.

Listing genres this encompasses would not only take awhile, but would also be fruitless given the remarkable aspect of the album isn't the range of styles that are fused. What truly stuns me about the album is that post-rock, metal, jazz, and others are combined in a way that sounds nothing like any of its components. The whole seems unified, despite its lack of any familiar structure, in such an indivisible way that to pick it apart and talk about pieces would be counterproductive.

Dowsing Anemone is a slow moving, intense, dark, earthy album that is downright scary whether that fear be from beauty or ugliness depends on the track. The music has a fluidity that's remarkable, and despite a lack of apparent form it maintains interest throughout the entire album. After listening to this album many times it's amazing how familiar it is. Not familiar in the sense that I can recall it from memory, but familiar meaning every notes seems so perfect, like no other note could have been placed there at that time.

The sense of drama here floors me and keeps the album as powerful on it's 50th listen as it was the first time: The control of contrasts, dynamics, holding suspense until you're almost brought to tears, toying with dissonance until it almost becomes overwhelming then releasing granting complete aural bliss to the listener. No album in rock history has accomplished this more fully.

The band plays beautifully and Toby Driver delivers fine vocal performance from his fragile falsetto to his unpolished, abrasive croak. Perhaps the finest album of it's decade.

The best album of 2006.