INCOHERENT BRAIN DUMP

This is my fav Superluminal Pachyderm album because of more of great moments (as there are in other SP stuff too), very efficient use of the ingredients, esp the relaxed humming voice in an unsettling environment where the voice's owner would be in control having sophisticated fun saying carelessly whatever, while we're puzzled going through weird sonic carrousels ; also more of faster paced tracks, a good global dynamic balance, pretty groovy beats, uplifting.

IBD is not an "excellent addition" it'd rather be a reference album. If I rate five it tells I'd change nothing to it. Well ? I would, here and there. I rate more than four, by a whole quarter... The maker claims it's just hobby or toilet music, but it has an amazing lot for it.

Chanticleer's famous set of LFO opinions is likely to joint a moustache onto the crust's thread, in a bubbling shell delving recipes of cogs. Such a chorus rate footstool would embarass a taxi at one morsel of police, the whole Edwards being presented a ceramist, how consistently driven out of genuine stalwart a twinge, Roland's MartianChime ? When evaluating a station, should distill the wedge on the blackboard.

IBD starts with a kind of mid-80s dance club music track, colourful cristal-like tones but also "suspended" harmonies can be heard in a climate of expectation : people there would dance shyly, trusting the cool start to develop into something hotter... Then the drums start and raise the level of intensity, the piece is about to take off, the DJ might cheer us up... "GOOD EVENING, ...I CAN'T HEAR YOU...READY FOR THE LOOOOOOOOONG NIGHT ?" that's not what happens... We hear a relaxed chubby-child-like candid voice humming SP style lyrics*. The guy increases the "wtf" (well, only for some..., see **) tension when each sung note is decomposed into two pitches that alternate quickly ( like two intricated particles...Something radioactive there maybe... In terms of harmony the tensions are very interesting... ). A Gary Larson character experiencing Louis Wain syndroms, something like this. Such an efficient way to make it all sound oppressive with no big artillery or distortion, etc ; at its maximum energy, the voice raises like the one of a teacher who'd put pupils under pressure in order to obtain a sustained focus, at time exaggerately, in order to add a funny element and reoxygenate.

EDIT A couple of months after I'd typed this review I'd listen again and would think of that piece as a caricature of a politician telling empty words to the crowd, as nonsensical lyrics are a way to show how listening to meaningless speeches feel like, also the delay and reverb suggest a solemn event, other musical ingredients would refer to a party, so all in all a happy solemn event; the duplication of the voice and pitch would refer to double-meaning or being double-sided, which is quite typical of politicians. The energy in the colorful yet adamant & unorganic rythm section help express that we'd be on adrenaline caricaturing this empty speech.

* as a recurring feature in SP albums, lyrics are made of words put in a way that would remind us of an Exquisite Corpse, all seemingly related to the author's everyday life between job, home and leisure time, themes I related to boredom, a sense of vulnerability and awe; let anyone discover whether which proletarian food will be talked about, if it'll be about nose and smells, anything related to bathroom / waters (esp waters), if it'll be more about piping or plumbing, math elements ... the mysterious puzzle of words, from boring to fascinating. If you didn't get the tenth of the lyrics you could hear, reverse sonic filters make it worse.

**Why don't we imagine playing All Toilets of the City to a huge audience full of excited bald thick skinned big- heads with extreme macrocrania and pipe sockets nodding energetically at every beat, one pipe or two would link some of those heads to some nerves or veins down onto the body, ...

The second piece starts with a solid bass riff, but it doesn't take long before the guy gets us into a place where someone seems to rub a balloon and moves it from one of our ears to the other during a kind of occult incantation, made of SP lyrics style, the words themselves having no obvious magical function ; this last ingredient will be served quite often now and then. Also reverse bits for more dizziness. Are we experienced... ?

Eometry : a floating ghostly voice, the same kind of incantations..., wandering around a... well... dance club. Eometry has this cheap sounding synth bass slap used as a pulse, but has pretty ethereal and trippy parts, including a great riff, exciting harmonic effects towards the end, accompanied by monk choirs plus their leader....

The remaining pieces contain similar ingredients as the ones described hereabove, except Radio Donkey, the only one that, music-wise, would feel lighter, with less ambiguity and "incoherence" (in the music).

So I find that odd jewel of an album very well balanced between unsettling and straightforward ingredients. May it have the kudos it deserves !...

For more infos search "Zappa does neo prog or space rock." and you'll find more info by the maker ( whose user name on PA is Progaardvark ).