DISCIPLINE

King Crimson, never a band to be predictable, after a six-year hiatus releases a New Wave album? And with the seven billionth lineup? Could this possibly work in their favor? Well, much like Rush's Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, yes. A resounding yes. With new guitarist/singer Adrian Belew (Frank Zappa, Talking Heads, David Bowie) and bassist/Chapman Stick extraordinaire Tony Levin (later to join up with future Dream Theater members in Liquid Tension Experiment) and longtime members Bill Bruford and Robert Fripp, their sound veers towards a more mainstream, Talking Heads-esque style, with influences from Javanese Gamelan music showing. The opener, "Elephant Talk", fuses go-go finger-tapped basslines with animal noises and alphabetical synonyms for the word "talk". Adrian Belew (one of my favorite guitar players) makes the song entertaining, and sort of comical (working with Frank Zappa will do that to you). "Frame By Frame" follows, with rapid Fripp guitar leads and syncopated rhythms, leading up to a really nice slower section in 7/8. "Matte Kudasai" (Japanese for "please wait") opens with seagull imitations from Belew, which is the vehicle to a ballad. The side ends with "Indiscipline", a heavier song that recalls KC lineups of yore. Side 2 opens with "Thela Hun Ginjeet", a paranoid funk track rivaling anything David Byrne ever wrote. The side concludes with two instrumentals, "The Sheltering Sky" (a reference to the Beat poets that would influence the next album, Beat) and "Discipline" (which is Danny Carey from Tool's favorite track). The album is a relatively easy listen, without many offensive tracks.