BATELESS EDGE

FROGG CAFÉ Bateless Edge is an exciting find for me because its sounds and instrumentation choices are rather unique and unusual: Brass with tuned percussives and Zappa-Frippish guitar leads?! Ultimately, however, like it's comparable genre-mate ECHOLYN, the music never quite attains consistent heights of glory, cohesion, and accessibility.

The album has, for me, four highlights of admirable height, however: The opening song, "Terra Sancta," with its highly engaging electric guitar riff and powerfully chaotic and frenetic electric guitar solo (8/10); "Move Over I'm Driving" which recreates the JEAN-LUC PONTY-FREDDIE HUBBARD-WEATHER REPORT-MOTHERS OF INVENTION album that never occurred (7/10); "Pasta Fazeuhl" which fuses so many unusual musical styles into one song that it defies categorization (fusion-fusion?!) (7/10), and; "From the Fence" a more traditional song of almost ballad feel, beautiful lyrics and singing, interlaced with some awesome hooks from violin, CHICAGO-like brass section, trombone and trumpet soli. Actually, all in all this song has a very CHICAGO-ECHOLYN hybrid feel/sound to it (8/10).

The rest of the album (one 10 ½ minute song and a 24-minute, three-song suite representative of the process of adopting a Chinese child) fail to engage and/or entice me.

Overall an album of very interesting music and songwriting from very talented and adventurous musicians. I will continue to listen and look for FROGG CAFÈ music because it makes me pay attention and smile. 4 stars. Try it! You'll (probably) like (some of) it!