MUSIC FROM LEFT FIELD

"Music from Left Field" is the second, and - unfortunately - the last album by the crazy american drums-keys-guitar trio by the name of Cartoon. For this release, they actually have two "bonus" musicians, who play woodwinds and violin. And while this album shares some similarities with their debiut from '81, the addition of woodwinds and violin really puts Cartoon in a new, fresh perspective.

First of all, I believe that the new instruments made it much easier for Cartoon to fully express their weird, cartoonish musical desires. The goofy bassoon (or is it a bass saxophone? I'm not sure) and quirky, fidgety violin match Cartoon's vision extremely well. Secondly, "Music from Left Field" sounds much richer and even symphonic (to a certain extent), compared to a rather raw and crude debiut (which is a masterpiece anyway). Cartoon actually sounds a lot like Univers Zero on this album. I think the closest album to compare would be "Ceux Du Dehors" - very simillar, gloomy atmosphere, created by acoustic chamber masterminds. However - the band's name indicates the differences between them and UZ. While dark and scary, their music is also less serious, or - sometimes - even not serious at all. But the atmosphere and overall feeling are quite in the same vein.

This album offers a plenty of different moods - from heavenly, almost minimalistic ambient, through clumsy circus music (which should leave you scared of circuses for the rest of your life), symphonic music, complex disturbing chamber-prog, hypnotising free rock/jazz, pure goofiness, grand musical void... some moments will make you crack a big smile, while others will make you scared and paranoid. And the best thing is - most of them will make you BOTH!

My recommendation: get this album and wait for the night to come. Once it's dark outside, turn off the lights, lay down on the bed, close your eyes, and just let the music play. It's an experience worth at least a thousand circus tickets.