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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Cheer-Accident - Fear Draws Misfortune
    Posted: March 02 2009 at 18:57
Cheer-Accident - Fear Draws Misfortune




David (Trouserpress) did a great work at adding this fabulous and eclectic band, and their 2009 release is a must for those "avant-rock" and all related fans.

First of all, the Cheer Accident bio David wrote:

Originally formed in 1981 by Chicago-based pianist and drummer Thymme Jones, Cheer-Accident has maintained an impressively eclectic approach to music-making throughout their lengthy career, releasing a slew of albums that range in style from noise rock to avant-prog to pop. Unsurprisingly for a band that has been active for well over twenty years, the line-up has shifted on more than one occasion (including the tragic and untimely loss of their then-guitarist Phil Bonnet in 1999), but throughout their career Cheer-Accident have continued to produce challenging and unique music; constantly refusing to pin themselves down to a single genre.

2009 saw the release of Fear Draws Misfortune on Cuneiform Records. A punchy, dark and consistently challenging slice of avant-prog, this album alone more than justifies their inclusion in these archives. Other albums of particular interest to avant-prog fans include 1988's Sever Roots Tree Dies and the more recent Introducing Lemon.

Comparisons to Thinking Plague and other American RIO-tinged avant-prog bands are justified but they do little to capture the utterly unique spirit and sound of this band. Highly recommended for fans of complex (but uncluttered), highly-composed and unpredictable avant-prog.


http://www.cheer-accident.com/

www.myspace.com/cheeraccident



His review of Fear Draws Misfortune:

Fear Draws Misfortune
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by Trouserpress
Special Collaborator RIO/Avant/Zeuhl Specialist

— First review of this album —
4 stars A jerky, atonal guitar riff, alone and unsupported is the first thing to greet your ears when you put this album on. It's soon joined by another, equally abrasive guitar phrase. And then another. The three riffs seem to converge and rub against one another at the same time before a trumpet suddenly bursts in on the mix and then, before you even get a chance to get used to it, the drums kick in.

And that's it.

That's the moment I realised that this album was something a little bit special. The way Thymme Jones manages to sweep in with such a lazy, simple drum beat over all those confusing, jangly sounds is simply staggering. Something that started out sounding almost alien in its obliqueness suddenly sounds perfectly natural. The remainder of the song more than lives up to its initial promise, too – a bleak, disharmonious tune filled with massed female vocals, gritty guitar and pounding bass (the latter of which I find rather reminiscent of Jannick Top's meaty Zeuhl sound, but with a little more restraint).

Actually, restraint is a surprisingly good word to describe much of this album. The whole thing is a tightly composed, arranged sort of affair with little room for improvisation. This is, in my opinion, no bad thing.

The two short tracks which follow the superb but somewhat lethargic opener brilliantly showcase the band's more frenetic side. “Mescaliato” is a quick burst of bass-laden madness in which the band play a complex Gentle Giant-esque rhythm in (mostly) absolute synchronisation. It also features some wild growling guitar and, again, that Zeuhl-y bass is to the fore. This jumps straight into “And Then You Realise You Haven't Left Yet”, a somewhat jazzier affair with pounding piano and sax. Again, tightly composed and full of notes. Lovely stuff.

“Blue Cheadle” was an instant favourite of mine, what with its grinding riff which almost seems to drop beats at random only to pick them right back up again, chant-like repetitive vocals and positively eerie violins which shudder and whine the song to a close.

“The Carnal, Garish City” is highly reminiscent of Thinking Plague and 5uu's without ever sound remotely derivative. Another stand-out track that I really can't even begin to describe adequately. : “According to the Spiral” introduces an unexpected element to the avant-prog mix: poppy, soulful vocals. Something of a shock at first, but it quickly becomes clear that rather than a jarring juxtaposition, they fit in beautifully with the album's dark, intricate sound.

This is further explored in the album's closing song, the mini-epic “Your Weak Heart”. It begins with a heartfelt piece of piano-accompanied crooning which wouldn't seem out of place on any American singer/songerwriter's album. This bleeds its way into an extended instrumental avant-prog workout in which unfolds with an increasingly gut-wrenching sense of urgency, underpinned all the while by Jones' hammering piano. All of a sudden it jerks back to the original vocal refrain, which now feels like a completely different song due to the madness that has come before it.

It's been a struggle to write this review, as there are so few adequate ways to describe the music on this album. Comparisons to other bands nearly always seem unjustified or misleading whilst attempts to pigeonhole even individual parts of songs have left me scratching my head in bewilderment. Having said this, nothing on this album sounds SO dissimilar to me that I would ever feel lost or alienated by it. Any seasoned avant-prog fan is unlikely to find this album a challenge to appreciate. Instead, they will simply relish in its complexities (and its simplicities too), and wallow in the nigh-on perfectly constructed-ness of it all.

Arbitrary list of songs I like ever so slightly more than all the other songs on this album (which I also really like):

Sun Dies Blue Cheadle The Carnal, Garish City According to the Spiral

Report this review (#204898) | Posted Monday, March 02, 2009, 18:12 EST
Review Permalink | Submit a review for this album



Get it.

Now.










Edited by avestin - March 02 2009 at 18:58
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 03 2009 at 08:03
Feel free to mention other cheerful accidents by Cheer Accident, like the marvelous Introducing Lemon and Enduring the American Dream


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 03 2009 at 22:49
Coming shows for the band:

SHOWS AND NEWS

April 16, 2009 - Chicago, IL at The Bottom Lounge with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum & Dub Trio!

April 23, 2009 - Louisville, KY

April 24, 2009 - Lexington, KY

April 25, 2009 - Fairfax, VA

April 26, 2009 - Baltimore, MD

 

European tour - late April/early May!

Here is the story so far...

April 30, 2009 - Metz, France

May 1, 2009 - Lyon, France

May 2, 2009 - Gerardmer, France

May 3, 2009 - Wurzburg, Germany

May 4, 2009 - Czech Republic?

May 5, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 6, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 7, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 8, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 9, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 10, 2009 - Czech Republic?

May 11, 2009 - Zagreb, Croatia

May 12, 2009 - Massa, Italy

May 13, 2009 - Rome, Italy

May 14, 2009 - Florence, Italy

May 15, 2009 - Switzerland?

May 16, 2009 - TBA, France





Edited by avestin - March 03 2009 at 22:50
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 03 2009 at 22:55
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 04 2009 at 02:30
Originally posted by avestin avestin wrote:


European tour - late April/early May!

Here is the story so far...

April 30, 2009 - Metz, France

May 1, 2009 - Lyon, France

May 2, 2009 - Gerardmer, France

May 3, 2009 - Wurzburg, Germany

May 4, 2009 - Czech Republic?

May 5, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 6, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 7, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 8, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 9, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 10, 2009 - Czech Republic?

May 11, 2009 - Zagreb, Croatia

May 12, 2009 - Massa, Italy

May 13, 2009 - Rome, Italy

May 14, 2009 - Florence, Italy

May 15, 2009 - Switzerland?

May 16, 2009 - TBA, France


No UK dates?


Cry

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 04 2009 at 07:47
Originally posted by Trouserpress Trouserpress wrote:

Originally posted by avestin avestin wrote:


European tour - late April/early May!

Here is the story so far...

April 30, 2009 - Metz, France

May 1, 2009 - Lyon, France

May 2, 2009 - Gerardmer, France

May 3, 2009 - Wurzburg, Germany

May 4, 2009 - Czech Republic?

May 5, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 6, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 7, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 8, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 9, 2009 - TBA, Poland

May 10, 2009 - Czech Republic?

May 11, 2009 - Zagreb, Croatia

May 12, 2009 - Massa, Italy

May 13, 2009 - Rome, Italy

May 14, 2009 - Florence, Italy

May 15, 2009 - Switzerland?

May 16, 2009 - TBA, France


No UK dates?


Cry



Yeah, I was thinking about you when I saw this and figured you'd be disappointed.


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 04 2009 at 16:39
I've heard far too little from these guys.. but the songs I've heard were awesome. I'll investigate them further, particulary their newest one!
 
 
RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on!
EXERIOR Experimental tech/death/progmetal from Norway!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 04 2009 at 17:50
Great to se this band get some recognition! Intrigued people must also give 'Introducing Lemon' a try. It's got two 23 minute epics bookending a bunch of pop/math-rock weirdness. This is a good thing.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 05 2009 at 04:29
Couple of tracks from this album on tonight 's ALT2 Show - see:
The best eclectic music on the Web,8-11pm BST/GMT THURS.
CLICK ON: http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php
Host by PA's Dick Heath.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2009 at 11:07
Has anyone heard their first album?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 10 2009 at 00:21
I have just finished my first listen to this album and have been jarringly entertained the entire way through. Lately, I must admit, I have been struggling to express any enthusiasm towards proggy kinda music, but I manage to sit through its duration with rapt attention. If I were not in such a sleep deprived state I'd have a floundering attempt at describing this little curiosity. Maybe an overarching statement will do the trick: one of the few American avant-prog bands I have not been utterly disappointed by.   
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2009 at 02:58
It's great that these guys are finally getting some long-overdue recognition, at least in the avant-prog community. I just stumbled upon them earlier this year and knew I had pretty much found my dream band...Nearly all my musical obsessions in an eclectic but cohesive package, with a certain "indie" attitude that is at once playful and sincere, which I love. I still need to hear the majority of their albums, but yeah, Fear Draws Misfortune is really good. Definitely their avant-prog album. Sever Roots, Tree Dies from over 20 years ago is also really good, and seems to also be on their proggier side...Death And Taxes is almost like a prog-metal Shudder To Think, and Cutting Off My Arm So I Don't Have To Shake Hands is kind of Primus-y. Now I'm just going crazy with these comparisons...But, Find off of Introducing Lemon is Yes if they had David Grubbs of Gastr Del Sol as a guitarist instead of Steve Howe. Anyways, I have a download of their first album/tape, Life Isn't Like That (if that's what you were referring to), so I guess PM me if you're interested...

Edited by sophteonal - March 14 2009 at 03:06
Marchin' on the home of the blues...

http://www.last.fm/user/sophteonal
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2009 at 20:02
Originally posted by Apsalar Apsalar wrote:

I have just finished my first listen to this album and have been jarringly entertained the entire way through. Lately, I must admit, I have been struggling to express any enthusiasm towards proggy kinda music, but I manage to sit through its duration with rapt attention. If I were not in such a sleep deprived state I'd have a floundering attempt at describing this little curiosity. Maybe an overarching statement will do the trick: one of the few American avant-prog bands I have not been utterly disappointed by.   


Awesome Adam, great you like this.

I got 5 more of their releases this week to add to the 4 that I had and I'm missing mostly their first album and the Variations albums and a few more, can't remember. So far of their discography Introducing Lemon, Fear Draws Misfortune and Enduring the American Dream are my favourites but I'm looking forward to the new 5 I have.

Anyone's been to their shows?
I've heard accounts of past shows where they would play the same song 3 times or just their one famous song for more than an hour (Filet of Nod)
I think that's not the case anymore, though.



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