THRAK

King Crimson return with another evolution in the line up, this time the formulation of six members which breaks down rhythmically as two trios to blend a very interesting construction of soundscapes. Trey Gunn (stick bass thingy) and Pat Mastelotto (drums) join the quartet who grouped in the early eighties, namely Fripp/Belew/Levin/Bruford who recorded the Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair set of albums. Thrak is an album with a good selection of songs and some noises and typical powerful execution of the music. There are hints of early day King Crimson, "Walking On Air" comes to mind, juxtaposed with a newer almost industrial type tribal patterns with the thumping percussive "B'Boom" and the dark heavy cutting of "Vroom". And while there may be an eclectic method to Thrak the overall sound quality does sound compressed and given a metal edge which in my opinion loses a sense of emotion and even the flow of talent that the musicians contain. But it is the cold digital age and in another way the music compliments this. Thrak is without a doubt a cold and dark album. And while playing with two sets of three can have an explosive element the units march across safely and largely pedestrian, relentless in the heavier parts. Still tight and concise but there still lacks a killer edge found on an album in the vein of Larks Tongues In Aspic or Red, though it is edgy... I still have to get underneath that one I guess.... "People" is certainly one of my favorite King Crimson songs from any era, "Dinosaur" is another decent song, a stab at the music media who label older acts as dinosaurs, and "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream" is definitely worthy of inclusion but "One Time" could be the cream of the more mellow and melodic tracks on Thrak. For a band who have been around for a long time and seen many changes Thrak is still a progression on previous albums yet standing still, experimenting yet never exploring to full extent. Playing with two three piece units simultaneously is a unique idea but for me the music in general has been stagnated to accommodate the musicians, possibly to allow cohesion. But even if it is nowhere near as strong as would have been expected after a break Thrak remains a good album despite my reservations and expectations.