DOWSING ANEMONE WITH COPPER TONGUE

After such an unexpected, earth-shattering debut as Choirs of the Eye it is not surprising that Kayo Dot's fans had high expectations for this album. Well, what did they expect? An album done in the traditions and under the borders of the first release? A return to the roots of maudlin of the Well? Or a an album that sounds like nothing you've ever heard before, let alone the group's previous efforts? I am proud to say that, in this case, it is the latter.

When Choirs of the Eye was released, many loyal fans of the group couldn't accept the metamorphosis, which was the transition between Bath/Leaving Your Body Map and CotE. The "songs" were hardly songs anymore and would be better described as "free compositions, which opened new inspiration sources to the artists, however, with it also became more challenging for the average listener. Is the change between Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue and its predecessor even more apparant? Definitely, although now that the listeners are prepared to expect anything from Kayo Dot, it is not as surprising as it used to be. The new release seems more carefree and laid-down, surely jazzier and not as post-rocking as the debut. Those who enjoyed Choirs of the Eye(like myself)should prepare for a brand new experience once again.

The album is opened with Gemini Becoming The Tripod, a dramatic, atmospheric song with both quiet, dreaming parts, as well as apocalyptic, distorted and drone-doomy ones. The vocals(and lyrics too!) used here suit the music perfectly, and the instrumentation matches the mood of the composition - even the woodwinds help to get the message across. I especially like the outro of this track - the one that starts after the vocals end. Immortelle And Paper Caravelle is the next song, and it is more relaxing than anything else on this album. It has no surprises whatsoever, but I find the songwriting to be rich, which makes this track a personal favourite. Aura On An Asylum Wall is the shortest and, perhaps, the most "usual" track here, although that's not really the right word to describe it. The vocals don't take any long to appear and the music instantly takes the listener's attention. There is some lovely use of trumpet and violin here, which makes the jazzy parts more enjoyable. Why I said the song was more unusual was because it can be somewhat compared to the build-in structures of the previous album and it is, possibly by intention, the easiest track to listen to. The melodic jazzy part builds-in into a faster section, which eventually ends with top class Grindcore noise. I still haven't listened to that one Pig Destroyer album I've got, so this part always reminds me about it. Now, where was I, the transition seems so perfect and even logical(which is not really the world, as you feel it with your heart, not consider it mathematically obvious)that there is really nothing to complain about. The next track is ___ On Limpid Form and it sure is a contradictoring one! The first few minutes of the song are beautiful and rather easy to listen to, whereas the 13 minutes after the melodic guitar solo are pretty repetitive consisting of noises and sounds done by guitars, bass and drums. Now, this is likely to scare some of the listeners off, but I tend not to skip it whenever I listen to the album. It creates an incomparable atmosphere and, although a difficult listen devoid of any pleasure, is an interesting part of this great album. Honestly speaking, I can't confess that this track is a huge pleasure to me with a straight face, but I must still say I find it interesting enough. After such a gruesome journey that was this track, Amaranth The Peddler seems more appealing that it would be, hadn't it been the last track. It, once again, features nice trumpet and especially violin and I often say to myself ironically that the song should have been called Amaranth The Fiddler. The approach to singing is unique here as well and the instrumentation is minimalistic, yet very pleasing. There is one short moment around 8:00 that I get an eargasm from each time I hear it. Mia Matsumiya's playing in this album is something out of this world. The album ends quietly, making you want even more.

I really can not give this album less than five stars, the maximum rating, which, from my point of view, equals an absolute masterpiece. Don't forget that it was released in the year of 2006 and knowing that music nowadays progresses so impressively gives me more faith in future. If the artists continue to make new decisions and take different approach with their music each time without fear of being abandoned by their fanbase, the music will be saved. Kayo Dot seem to be a group who realizes this very well.

However, not every person would like this. I especially do NOT it to fans of usual Symphonic Prog, as no mellotrons, neo-classical guitar work and eclectic songwriting can be found here. The aim of this album is to make an attentive listener think carefully and reconsider his values in music, it is not meant to impress someone just because it can. Approach with caution, thoughtfulness and an open mind - this album is too important to be misunderstood, knowing its place in the world of music!

Words cannot describe the feeling that Kayo Dot convey with their sophomore effort. This album is dark, moody, and undeniably heavy and yet features (only a few) moments of dare I say it, uplifting music. The mostly instrumental album is the culmination of 3 years of work from the group, and it comes off remarkably well. Toby Driver guides the group through the multi-faceted compositions, which feature dreary and dark riffs, and some quirky horn/violin sections in between. One word comes to my mind when I think of this album, brilliant.

Gemini Becoming the Tripod is the opener, starting off quietly but quickly picking up pace. Driver and Massi shine vocally here, and the riffs and sounds created are nothing short of breathtaking, especially the horns used on the song. Immortelle and Paper Caravelle is next, and it has a more mellow feeling than the rest of the album. It has a very ethereal and atmospheric feeling to it, with the violin standing out in my mind as some of the greatest fusion of metal and violin I've ever heard. Aura On An Asylum Wall is third, and it has the most conventional feeling of the entire album. This song also shows some experimentation with jazz, with the horns and violin giving a great groove to the backbone of the song. ___On Limpid Form is the most noteworthy track on the album as well as the longest track on the album. The breakdown that takes place from the 8th minute to the 18th minute, which is just an onslaught of well timed chords and dissonant modes, is utterly breathtaking and in my mind the best moment on the entire album. Amarenth the Peddler concludes the album, and it takes the Post-Rock label this band has been given and takes it into new, more exciting realms, the violin on this track is utterly brilliant and I constantly refer back to this section (towards the end of the song) whenever I listen to it.

Overall, fans of metal and post-rock will find something to enjoy on this album. Although the album has so many strengths, there are a few minor gripes. One, the quiet sections are as I said, quiet, too quiet. And Aura On An Asylum Wall tends to drag on a bit in the middle. But despite these faults, there is a lot going for this album, and I highly recommend it. 4.5/5.

Kayo Dot - Dowsing Anemone With a Copper Tongue,

First, I must say that I bought maudlin of the Well - Bath, Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye, Kayo Dot - Dowsing Anemone With a Copper Tongue recently and decided to review all these three albums at the same time. I bought Bath a week earlier than the Kayo Dots. I will compare the three albums during the review a lot, so try not to let that bother too much. I’m trying to figure out the key for this amazingly evolving music. For these three reviews I got an idea to write down my thoughts and opinions about the albums during the time I listen these albums and section my experiences into parts. So, I decided to give four weeks of listening time hoping it would be enough. I will start this review with a section, where I comment about the albums in four parts. So a week of listening and some thoughts about that experience written in that particular week. I hope I made it clear enough. This paragraph can be found in all the three reviews.

The experience table,

First week:

Wow! Very odd music. If I had to give my first impression in a one word, I would say: Chaos. Pure chaos. There is really nothing to grasp to. The step from maudlin to ’Choirs of the Eye’ is rather staggering, but widened to this album it begins to look very huge. Though I own Bath only. After a week of this musical mess from Kayo Dot , and the decent quality of maudlin, I really have a desire to listen the one in between: Leaving Your Body Map. After the first week of listening this album, quite furiously actually, I can’t say much. I can say that I enjoyed some, but major part of my opinion is quite undecided. I hardly remember parts from the songs, but the parts I remember really does sound good in my head. I must listen more, I can’t give a solid opinion about anything about the album, really. The songs are extremely hard to listen.

Second week:

Starting to see some light. I mean, the Kayo Dot’s don’t seem to be that different than I first thought. This music is still extremely hard to listen, but very enjoyable. I start to remember parts from here and there, but still not much. This record need a lots of spins more. I’ve reduced the listening, but still the CD spins quite much in my player.

Third week:

The third week was very enlightening. I feel I’m ready to name the best songs at this point. All the songs are great, but now I feel that ’Aura On An Asylum Wall’ and ’Immortelle And Paper Caravelle’ are the best ones. The opener track is very good, with ’beautiful’ singing, I might say. ’___ On Limpid Form’ is rather disturbing in the end, but I find it very fascinating. I believe if one listens this song too much, it may drive crazy. So beware. ’Amaranth the Peddler’ is excellent finisher. I feel refreshed after listening the album through.

Fourth (and fifth) week:

After furious listening, the album is beginning to open to me. The four weeks was barely enough to make a review, so just in case I actually postponed my decision for this album for a week of listening. All the songs are marvellous, I can’t single out one best song. The enlightenment of these last weeks was great experience.

This album is much like the previous Kayo Dot. I don’t’ mean that as a bad factor. I mean that there wasn’t much evolvment between the Kayo Dots as there were between Bath and Choirs of the Eye. This album include death metal, prog, jazz, classical, maybe more jazz than the previous work. This album is just as incredible than Choirs of the Eye, maybe even better, if its possible. The psychedelic feeling through the album is hooking. In this album, I found the link between traditional Japanese music as well as in Choirs of the Eye. I found beautiful melodies, good, versatile singing, and deep, amazing feelings too. This album is a mystery that everyone should try to solve, it can be rather difficult, but in the end, it’s so rewarding. The brilliancy of this album is incredible. I cannot call this album nothing else, than a masterpiece of prog-music. Get this album for your collection, I recommend it by heart. Five out of five, a masterpiece.

Amazing. The first time I listened to it, I liked it but really didn't understand the music. The second time, I started listening more to the complex parts of the music. Third time, I was enjoying more of the quiet parts. Fourth, I started understanding the quiet parts and the strange and surprising changes in the music. This album, I have to say, is the very definition of epic and experimental bliss. DAwtCT goes everwhere from ambient, to jazz, to grindcore, to metal, to psychadelia. A strong recommendation for any people looking for extremely different music...

"This is weird; it's not bad but not very good either. It's just really weird". That's what everyone says every time when I put this record on to let one of my friends hear it. Actually, that's what I thought as well with the first couple of times I heard it. I still think it's a strange record, and it's not bad and not good; it's [%*!#]ing brilliant. This is probably THE most "out there" band on the planet right now, with the most original, powerful and best music at the moment. I know it's quite a statement but it's a lie not to say so.

I discovered Kayo Dot when they were on the #1 of 2006 spot on Rate your Music early this year. It's not there anymore, and I understand a lot of people have serious problems with music like this, but it should be since there is nothing better than this release. I later discovered their other release as well which I think is a little more conventional but heavier and perhaps more easy-listening. It's actually quite hard to compare both records as they sound completely different yet the band has kept its sound.

Dowsing anemone with copper tongue starts of with one of the most tear jerking songs ever. Their singer Toby Driver wails, screams, cries and creams some more as the song continues and in some weird kind of way it builds and build into this strange climax with dropping guitars and a melody through it. The album goes on with some weird noises that go on for a couple of minutes. It's like they need some time to actually find each other and when they do it results in one of the albums finest moments. Toby starts singing again and for 2 minutes the album opens itself like a beautiful flower which is loved by everyone only to close again a wail in the darkness. It does never get heavy in this song and it's mostly strange and atmospheric but quite powerful nonetheless. After 9 minutes the third song starts. It's start with immediate singing from Toby and a pretty strange rhythm but it doesn't last for long because a jazzy saxophone takes over Toby's vocals into a lovely solo. After the solo the instruments just swirl around each other for some time resulting into some of the most memorable jazz parts I have ever heard. In time the instruments speed up. Faster, faster and faster until they result into some very bleak minimal grindcore part with Toby screaming his lungs off!

Half of the album is done now, but the most extreme part is yet to come and you don't have to wait very long I promise you. The beast continues with the monstertrack ___On Limpid Form and I promise you'll some more: this is the scariest most horrible track ever. The first 5 minutes are the most beautiful on the entire disc and quite possibly the most beautiful minutes ever. They are like the jazzy parts in the previous songs with some beautiful vocals on top of them, an amazing guitarsolo and great rhythm guitars and drums. But after some 4,5 minutes, things get weirder and a little more interesting and 5 minutes in the song the instruments are completely gone. What is left are the drums, almost random guitardrops and a load of feedback resulting in one of the most unlistenable things ever. It may be unlistenable, horrible and god knows what but it sure sets a mood and it sure is pretty scary tripping on this stuff. This might be the best and worst part of the album, that's a paradox I know, but Kayo Dot isn't your everyday band which by now is pretty clear I assume. At the end of the song you're left there; completely insane, tired and freaked out to say the least. The next track starts with some 30 seconds of intro ticking on the cymbals to give you a little break. But it isn't much since then a weird very low noise comes on which makes you think, hmmm what the hell was that. The low stuff continues into some weird almost drone part but it never gets heavy again. I'm actually glad for it since I have enough after that fourth song. The violin gets into the song and set's the vibe and after 4 minutes of weird noises Toby finally gives us some of those sweet vocals again. The song stays very calm for the entire time but there are so many layers and so many things going all it never gets boring. The vocals stop after 2,5 minutes or so and the album closes itself again. The song never gets of the ground anymore but it just dissolves into some weird noises which sometimes make a whole but most of the times just fly around each other. The album closes now and ends after a full hour.

This album is a journey which is isn't understandable after 1 or not maybe after 20 listens but explains itself more and more when you'll get familiar with it. I myself have listened to it to death for some 10 months and now I finally reviewed it. I'd rate it a full 100/100 but I'm still not done with it and I wonder if I'll ever be.

All too many times reviews that use taglines such as "strikingly original", "one of a king", and "truly unique" are describing a piece of music that is quite the opposite. However, given what I've heard, it's fair to say that Kayo Dot sounds un-akin to much else perhaps besides Toby Driver's other work. Although, even then the similarities are more in vision than in sound.

Listing genres this encompasses would not only take awhile, but would also be fruitless given the remarkable aspect of the album isn't the range of styles that are fused. What truly stuns me about the album is that post-rock, metal, jazz, and others are combined in a way that sounds nothing like any of its components. The whole seems unified, despite its lack of any familiar structure, in such an indivisible way that to pick it apart and talk about pieces would be counterproductive.

Dowsing Anemone is a slow moving, intense, dark, earthy album that is downright scary whether that fear be from beauty or ugliness depends on the track. The music has a fluidity that's remarkable, and despite a lack of apparent form it maintains interest throughout the entire album. After listening to this album many times it's amazing how familiar it is. Not familiar in the sense that I can recall it from memory, but familiar meaning every notes seems so perfect, like no other note could have been placed there at that time.

The sense of drama here floors me and keeps the album as powerful on it's 50th listen as it was the first time: The control of contrasts, dynamics, holding suspense until you're almost brought to tears, toying with dissonance until it almost becomes overwhelming then releasing granting complete aural bliss to the listener. No album in rock history has accomplished this more fully.

The band plays beautifully and Toby Driver delivers fine vocal performance from his fragile falsetto to his unpolished, abrasive croak. Perhaps the finest album of it's decade.

The best album of 2006.

A Triumph, easily the finest of 2006 and much more.

It is with no strange occurrence to find Kayo Dot at the top of the creative heap amongst various clones and fanboy favorites. Those familiar with previous outputs are well aware of the band's ability to craft works of imaginative art and weave a variety of sounds into something nearly indescribable. This release is more mature, more moving, and better than any of their other previous outputs, and that's really saying something given the quality of their work.

First of all, throw away all preconceptions you might have about progressive metal. Otherwise it will take you extra listens to truly appreciate this work of art (the first listen would be spent completely shattering your views on the genre). A quick look at the list of instruments should give you a basic idea that this is no ordinary album. Also, those instruments actually play a crucial role in the album/song structure, unlike other albums with "guest appearances" of other instruments that are nice, but rarely needed other than to add variety. These instruments have meaning, purpose, and power over the songwriting. Graham's trumpet is especially of note on the track ___ On Limpid Form as well as its unlikely appearance in the dark and brooding Aura On An Asylum Wall.

The music evokes a "longing" effect on a variety of occasions, largely due to the work of Mia Matsumiya's violin. The drums have purpose, and are not merely beat providers, but advocates of change and tension builders. Toby Driver's vocals have become more refined and crafted to fit the music, especially of note on the opening track. As reviewer Trickster F. noted, the ending is especially powerful.

Throughout the course of the album we are presented with a variety of choices for what might have been the next stage to the song. I always find myself enjoying the choices presented by the band, having each song reach it's full potential while remaining particularly unique and avoiding predictability. The album has an undeniable jazz element, which not only gives the "weirdness" and experimental nature contrast, but showcases the musical awareness and control of the band.

It is a great rarity that we come across albums potent enough to perhaps change our outlook on music itself. Kayo Dot's fusion of a variety of music styles allows it well enough to attract a variety of listeners, some of whom may be completely turned off by these sounds and others who will embrace it. If you are looking for something new and vibrant in today's music of increasing imitators, I urge you to consider this. It is with great rarity that I rate an album of 5 star quality, so one can be sure that there is superb musical context here. A true diamond in the rough.

In this album, Kayo Dot's leads their experimentation intents to the limits. But the price the album pays is that, though with exceptions, in most parts of its avant-gardeness, the music runs in a tremendous vacuum of feelings, so empty as it flows. That's the problem with Avant-gard music itself, may it be rock or classical, and I do not want to enter deeply in this discussion. Though the avant-gardness, the album is not as revolutionary as it might indiciate. Most of its ideas bands like Novembre, Pelican, Type O Negative, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mahavishnu Orchestra or No-Man have experimented before.

The notorious exception I refered before is the last track, "Amaranth the Peddler", in which the band achieved a great skill - the mellow guitars, funereal ambience and the symphonic avant-gard lines are combined in a delicate way, creating a very deep and somewhat original structure. In the rest of the album, the band does not reach such success. "Gemini Becoming the Tripod", the opener, it's the most difficult track to accept, mostly because Greg Massi's vocal posture, screaming almost to the vomit, blended with avant-gard cacophony. It transmitts few more than rage. Minimalism at its peak is also the trademark of "... on Limpid Form". "Immortelle and Paper Caravelle" shows the different side of the band, more delicate, blending feeled metaphisical textures, celestial heartbreaking voice and symphonic arrangements a la No-Man. "Aura on a Asylum All" is as captivating as the previous track, well achieved, making remeber Mahavishu Orchestra with its symphonic arrangements.

Sometimes the band gets blind with experimentation and forgets they are playing music, not a collection of sounds or noises. But othertimes the result is, not being completely revolutionary as GY!BE did years ago, something interesting and worth it. The band shows, at times, to have nice sensibility. But, for those who seek GY!BE similarities, it may be disappointed as it does not reach its deepness. 3,5 stars.

I bought this used based on the fact that it got top honors in the 2006 poll. Post-rock is not something I listen to every day, but I am always open to new things so I gave it a shot. I've had some good experiences with Sigur Ros and EITS, so I figured it must be at least as good as them, being number one and all. I was wrong.

I can find very little of musical worth on this disc. In my opinion its just a bunch of noise most of the time. Having said that, I do admit that there are some parts of great beauty, but they are too scarce to be of any lasting value to me.

I will refrain from giving it one star for the following reasons:

A: I value the judgement of most of the reviewers here and I am overwhelmingly in the minority. and..

B: This isn't the kind of music I listen to on a regular basis, so maybe I just don't "get it"

Stay away if you are a fan the 70's giants!!

Anybody want to buy a used copy?

Halfway between Progressive Metal and RIO/Avant-guarde, this will never be a consensual album, especially after being brought into the limelight with its choice as "ProgArchives Collaborator's Top Prog Album Of 2006".

Listening to this album, I cannot cease to recall "In the Court of the Crimson King". Some of you might say that this comparisson is beyond logical thought, or even discard it as complete gibberish. However, bear with me on this point.

Like "ITCOTCK", this is an album that stirred mixed emotions and was received in various manners. It's lack of compliance with the "general Prog picture" (how sad is it that some people consider Prog to have patterns and rules?), just like King Crimson had "escaped" their contemporary rock trends, had many stand on guard.

Similarities don't end here. I find the album structure slightly similar. Both albums feature 5 tracks, beggining with one considerably "heavier" and darker than the others. "Gemini Becoming The Tripod" is nothing but Kayo Dot's "21st Century Schizoid Man", the faster paced, more avant-garde track.

Like "ITCOTCK", what follows are two considerably softer tracks (even though both are quite longer and heavier that KC's "I talk to the wind" and "Epitaph" - a sign of the times). This is undeniable, even if third track "Aura On An Asylum Wall" gets rougher and hand harder towards the end.

OK, I reckon that so far this comparisson might have been a bit forced so far. But c'mon, guys, don't tell me "Moonchild" doesn't come to mind once you have finished hearing track 4, "___ On Limpid Form"? Granted, it is quite longer, but the structure is basicly the same: it starts of with a great tune, something that might actually be called a "song" (and is probably my favorite moment in the entire album), before turning (almost 13 minutes left till its end) into a great-senseless-improv-instrument-tuning- session - just like Moonchild.

And here the similarities end. While on "ITCOTCK", once "Moonchild" is over you get to hear the amazing title track, on Kayo Dot's "Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue" you get to hear... more "Moonchild", in the form of 14-minute "Amaranth The Peddler", featuring just a couple minutes of vocals. I'm sure that both "Moonchild" and these two final "Dowsing Anemone" tracks apease a lot of prog-fans. But it is a fact that the oposite occurs to many other. And when you get almost 30 minutes of noodling in an hour long record, then it is quite obvious this will not be an experience to rememeber. It sure as hell ruined it for me.

However, I quite enjoyed the first half of the album, and find it quite well-done. I have no problem in quit listening to this album 5-6 minutes into "___ On Limpid Form" - did not some of the great albums of the 70's clock at just over half an hour? For that, I will give it a 3,5. It is not essencial to my small collection, but it's an excellent addition if you're a true Prog afficionado, and a great sample of Prog's vitality in the new millenium.

Like James Joyce's "Ulysses" or Velázquez's "Las Meninas", this is a piece of art, one on which you may never find the sense, or just what makes it so great in all its intricacy, but that you definitly aknowledge that there is something "special" about it.

This album was excellent, but not in the way I normally describe an album as excellent. It tries new things, and it does it well, still keeping the music good while exploring less-trodden paths.

This album was, to me, an experiment on the border of music and sound. It tested the limits of music, and brought it right to the border of becoming mere sound, then snaps it back into recognizable territory again. Using Violin and horn appear where they are unexpected, and yet fit right into place. The whole album has a feel of barely controlled chaos, creating a very interesting sound, and a pleasing listen. Jazz and rock influences blend together to create an overall mellow sound with schizophrenic leanings to madness.

I am not a huge fan of metal, or usually of albums like this, but I would highly recommend this album to nearly everyone. Even if the genre isn't your cup of tea, this album should intrigue/fascinate any fan of music on this site, and especially entice musicians who know the inner-workings of music, and will be able to recognize the experimental twists and unconventional delves in this album

If Choirs of the Eye was the metal expansion of post rock (structurally it had the same uses of the quiet to loud formula in some pieces--occasionaly leavened by quieter,spacey, and shorter pieces that seemed to have a jazz influence in them), then Dowsing Anemone I think is something that has grown out of drone metal (Sunn 0))) and some Boris).

The tracks are structurally more ambiguous and don't always move in predictable ways, or seemingly sometimes don't even seem to move at all--as in the extended outro of "_______ On Limpid Form" which is an experiment in menace and texture. The album has a much harsher sound than its predecessor that only resolves in "Amaranth the Peddler" with is ambient backing and simple guitar notes chiming along with the deliriously romantic (As in Keats, or Shelly) lyrics.

Kayo Dot, on this album, are using the tools of the metal trade: Distortion, aggression, extended "jams", minor tones, but are using these tools almost outside the confines of metal. They use them in sometimes a classical context, or with jazz instrumentation. Over all I have to say that this album is a step in a different direction for the band, and is mostly enjoyable although I feel that the instrumentation in some places should have been just a little more discernable ("Immortal and Paper Caravelle" sort of just drifts off, I don't have a problem with that--I just wished the song would have made a slightly more concrete statement before drifting aloft on angel wings) in some places.

I must admit that being album of the year in progarchives was the the main reason that drove me to Kayo Dot. I am not into this "kind of music", it is too avant garde for my ears but I enjoy some of the elements that this record offers. And it offers them poorly. The first time I listened to it, it was a disaster. I thought to myself "this was terrible but maybe you are not ready". So I left it for some months.

Now after a couple of spins, I feel that I am ready to say that this is still a poor effort. I don't know if this is music of the future. It surely has a lot of elements of music of the past. Post-rock, psychedelic sounds, strange scales, some jazz and a bit of doom metal (someone succesfully mentioned Type O Negative - I agree to that). Well we all have our influences but we have to go somewhere with them, do we? So here is the main controversy: Do they create music or do they experiment beyond that? I believe that the latter is the case here. And I prefer to review music, progressive but still music. Somewhere in the way they lost it or they lost me.

There are some fine moments that I can go along with in this record, there are some nice ideas and there are some emotions floating around. But still the result is not complete. So I cannot salute this "new wave of progressive music". Not yet. Maybe it needs a few more years, maybe we will forget it cause there are so many different, better, enjoyable ways to experiment with music. Before some fans of this start to accuse me of "I don't know what", let me just say that reviews are instant and tend to capture the ideas of the reviewer at the moment. And we don't know how these ideas will transform in the future. And that works both ways.

As for this record, I am sure that I cannot go through the whole process of listen it again, since I have ZERO tolerance for the quite annoying 12.5 minutes of "... On limpid form" : "Doom riff going nowhere - noises of madness".

One star is too cruel. 2 or 3 stars is the dilemma. Well the 2 stars descibes it better: "Collectors/Fans only".

Compositions - 0/5, Memorable Melodies - 1/5, Inventiveness with a Purpose - 2/5, Vocals - 1/5, Extended Value/Charm - 1/5,

AVERAGE = 1/5.

GENRES: Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, Post-Rock, Avant-Garde/Jazz. SIMILAR BANDS: Maudlin Of The Well, Arcturus, Ensoph.

I just can't give this CD higher than a 1/5. There is no compositional quality to the music which is fine if it's an avant-garde jazz jam album that has changing tempos and sounds but instead it is very very repetitive overall and has very little change of sound within each song. I understand music with minimalistic structure of form but this CD has very few pleasurable moments. The musicians are capable enough but the "songs" themselves are pretty much just pointless. The fourth song has about 12-14 minutes worth of noise that repeats and repeats for the whole timeframe. I guess if you were wasted on drugs it may put you in some wonderful world but that's not my thing. Not saying the band members are on drugs but it feels to me like a modern psychedelic metal band that just wants to "blow your mind" with an unmelodic cacophony of structureless sound. I don't hear any real point to the songs. Can't recommend. Their first album was much better though still not great.

Now here's a disc that puts a thousand others into perspective.

Kayo Dot remind us that many musical ideas are cliches not because they are the best way of doing things but because they are easy to replicate, so it's a shock to hear true musical gentility on tracks such as "Immortelle and Paper Caravelle", which curls along the senses with whispered eloquence without offering a clear hook, and snatches away its most "song-like" moment almost as soon as it surfaces, because we have come to expect far more structure in a band's emulation of emotions such as joy, anticipation and wistful acceptance. Similarly, during the course of "___ On Limpid Form", which rattles with droning bass and eventually a certain noisy clatter, inevitablity is expressed more purely and directly than many artists would care to attempt. The closer, "Amaranth the Peddler" provides us with a gestalt song on order of the infamous Moonchild - and whether you think either band had a clear, planned composition or were simply improvising minimally on the spur of the moment, the final effect of both songs is profound.

I don't find there to be much metal on this album and consider Kayo Dot to be a band that has the genre on its radar - along with avant-jazz, post-rock and hardcore - rather than a metal band as such. Of course, the controversial and defining moment during "___ On Limpid Form" is thunderous but there are no conventional riffs to be found on this album, nor any powerhouse drumming and certainly no direct, sloganeering vocals; I find the lyrical content to be ethereal and somewhat vague - miles away from confrontational metal epic poems.

This is a polarising album for good reason: Kayo Dot have found a new way to transmit emotion. If your definition of progressiveness has upward limits, "Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue" will be way off your charts in terms of structure and sonic variation; sadly, you may not yet be equipped to receive their transmission.

A fascinating album that will certainly not be to most people's taste. It's certainly not completely to mine.

Here's the problem. Music like this can't be divided up into those intelligent enough to 'get it' and others too dumb to understand. 'Getting' a song or an album is simply a function of listening to it enough times that the main themes become embedded in your memory. Familiarity allows you to relax and enjoy. An album like this is harder to 'get' on first listen because there are few themes. But the noises are so unusual it takes only a couple more listens before it all starts shaking out. It comes down to this: is the amount of effort required to embed the album in your mind worth the effect it provides you?

Well, yes and no. Certainly the outstanding '___on Limpid Form' comes together on first or second listen. A pleasant opening section is followed by a few minutes of a repetitive, jagged riff, which then forms the base for a frenetic final rhythm. This track bristles with energy and purpose. I have to admit, were the whole album like this, I'd be raving like many other reviewers. Instead, much of the record is ambient, almost post-rock, and really does not draw me in. 'Gemini Becomes The Tripod', for example, glistens like droplets on a metal surface, moodily atmospheric, but it draws me in too many contradictory ways; and, to be frank, the vocals are an irritation. It is not enough to transmit emotion: one must communicate with clarity to avoid confusion.

I repeat: forget the snobbery surrounding this and other similar experimental records. You don't need to be intelligent to get this, just stubborn. But buying this kind of record is a gamble. You won't know if it's worth it until you try.

I DON´T UNDERSTAND

Sorry Kayo Dot enthusiasts, i have really tried very hard to understand this recording, and i´ve listened to it in different times (8 months ago aprox. the 1st time),i´ve heard it in different places and moods to see if that was the problem, with earphones, in my car, with big speakers, in surround... and nothing, i couldn´t hear and feel what i saw in so many reviews about this release.

And i have to say that i really like a lot Prog Metal, i love Post Rock, i enjoy some of the RIO/Avant-garde artists, actually i liked some of the things this guys did with Maudlin Of The Well, and even first Kayo Dot effort, but i didn´t find enough pleasant moments in this album.

I usually find interesting elements in odd music, but i guess this is too much for me. Not everything here is bad, in fact there are nice moments here and there and a couple of songs that don´t make me want to press the "skip" button. To rate this album will be easy in the aspect that there are 5 songs, so each songs represents one full star when is totally satisfactory.

The inicial track "Gemini Becoming the Tripod" sounds promising at the beginning, but soon becomes repetitive and boring, and vocals after listening for a while, become annoying( 0.1 ). "Immortelle And Paper Caravelle" is more in the Post-Rock vein and an acceptable nice track, but nothing that makes me remind it for a long time(0.5). "Aura On An Asylum Wall" is the best and only track that i really enjoyed, nice trumpet and violin, drumming is right in place, good structure and progression, why couldn´t they make the full album like this? I mean, nice compositions, even with chaotic endings like this the cd would be awesome, a good balance between the experimental disonant parts with the melodic ones could´ve done it for me(0.9) "__On Limpid Form" begins nicely but unfurtunely after a few minutes everything goes to h.... What i mean is not that every single song has to have harmony and a mellow or melodic meaning, could have even very heavy structure, and experimenting is good, but not directionless, not painfully long and flat(0.2). "Amaranth The Peddler" finishes the album in an acceptable way, with good vocals, interesting spacey moments, but that´s it, like second track, leaves me with empty hands, nothing that i would play in my stereo frecuently(0.5)

So, in the end, if maths don´t fail in my mind, that would be a total of 2.2 stars. For PA rounded to 2. I feel bad to be in the minority, but believe me i couldn´t help it.

Viva el Prog!

Not evryone will like this album, its just too origianal. Kayo Dot blends elements of Post-Rock, Jazz, Metal, Modern Art Music, and Avant without even breaking a sweat. I personally love the blending of style however Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tounge is a far from perfect disc, often trailing off into silence or near silence many will find this aggrivating, but as an avid Post-Rocker I understand its purpose and can appretiate it.

The mood is dark often causing me to actually sweat (strange I know) the songs all sound creepy, like a bad trip or fevered dreams. The musisianship is superb, able to play highly composed insanity as well as improvise. The band uses plenty of odd instruments for the Avant fans including Violin Viola and Trumpet among others. My main complaint is that even though the songs are good they dont fit together and the album loses momentum and falls apart at the end.

Gemini becoming the Tripod: great opening line, reminds me of lots of Jazz, especially Sun Ra. The interesting thing is that the band uses a creshendo/build up style but does it in a way that is unlike Post-Rock in almost every way, and also is more complex. You can tell that this song is highly composed.

Immortelle and Paper Caravelle: Takes a long time to get moving and is not as brilliant as Gemini... is but still holds its own. The sound of the song is verry ambient and long winded, getting into TD territory at times. When the song gets going you notice a verry Jazzy theme and get a good dose of old fasioned Jazz crooning vocal delivery, somthing not many bands use. The song ends in another ambient trance, with hints of Classical and Post-Rock throughout.

Aura On an Asylem Wall: It seems to take its sound from Chamber Rock but the Jazz feel remains prominent with a brilliant trumpet solo whose phrazing would be loved by even the snootyest jazz critic. The middle of the song has some great melody, probably the most melody anywhere on the whole thing. This is probably the best song on the disc, using most all of the elements that make this CD great, even featuring some old fasioned Grindcore at the end.

___ On Limpid Form: Slow and beutifull with great singing. Reminds me of old movie love scenes, and actually isn't scary at all, wich is odd. However as soon as the guitar solo kicks in (amazing solo by the way) the mood starts to change into a more dissonant piece, and its not long before it changes into a heavy durdge, sounds like Neurosis with the drive turned off. This part of the song is verry demented and not nearly as well done as the rest of the songs, luckily it saves its self by turning into a great Post-Metal build up with great precussion. Would have been a skippable song but the beggining tune saved it.

Amaranth the Peddler:Starts with three minutes of verry little before going into the actual song, the song is verry trancelike with stoned singing. The song is the druggyest and the least demanding listen. Got to give props to the lyrics though, I have no idea what any of it means, but it creates a picture. the song (and the album) ends on a bit of a weak note, good but not a good ending, it just goes on too long and never gets anywhere.

Overall a good album, with some flaws in the last two songs, but their was more room for error as their was no blueprint for this type of music to build off of, making it forgivable. However not a masterpiece because the album simply does not come together, it just is not as good when viewed as a complete work -- 4 stars

Kayo Dot, a reformed Maudlin of the Well, took the avant-garde music world by storm with their debut Choirs of the Eye. When it came time for a follow up, it was met with high expectations, but mixed reviews. Many claim this is useless noise, utterly without direction, and entirely hollow. Others rave that it inspires emotion, provokes thought, forms atmospheres, and has really transformed the face of avant-garde music. It's a matter of taste, really. The majority of non-avant-garde fans detest this thoroughly, but most of us who like this precisely experimental, authentically unique music love it.

The strength of Choirs of the Eye lies in its unfathomable, cloud-like compositions - the free-form, jazzy, experimental space the band created, accented by a sharp metal edge. On this album, things are taken further, and the vaporous compositions are reduced/augmented to pure vapor. The creativity, originality, uniqueness is in healthy supply, and the haunting, spacious textures are quite as provoking and quite as resonating, though way too overdone, and way too long. Many dislike that. I tend to love minimalism - and this album shares much with that style. The forlorn brilliance of Choirs of the Eye is slightly less plentiful here, though the aggressive, maddened fury of the first is perfected. Happily, the "spoken word" style vocals of the debut are completely ditched, and the provocative lyrics have suffered none.

Yet, despite the ranting, vaporous metal jams/ramblings, the ambient, minimal, repetitive, avant-garde mush that many deem to be directionless and meaningless, I love it. This is modern, metal versions of experimental minimal classical music - and it is very haunting, and very special. The many layers come gradually, and make the dissonant, sinister, malevolent, ultimately evil atmospheres complete. Heavy percussion, endless supply of intense guitars, and the beautiful classical instruments balance each other to make a furiously aggressive, and yet beautifully melancholic ride.

Kayo Dot think of themselves as "avant-garde metal" and have been labeled "post-metal" before. But their music goes so far beyond that. Truly, it's John Cage, Phillip Glass, Arvo Pärt, Brian Eno, Klaus Schulze in the form of a metal band. The vocals, entirely unique and completely unlike the aforementioned artists, are very, very emotional, and very, very - strangely - touching. Toby Driver's voice sinks sinuously within my chest, squeezes all the juices out of my heart (or wherever it is a human's emotions are stored and experienced), and fills it with his own emotions, the driving aggression of Gemini Becoming The Tripod, I can feel his emotion as well as I can feel my own. There's something really special about music that can do that; something really touching.

There are many artists who make music that successfully or unsuccessfully strives to expand upon or replicate the generally accepted standards of quality in music. In fact, I would say the great, great majority of artists from the past and present have or have had this ambition (and, don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing.) Even the most avant-garde band is typically experimental only in its oblique approach towards this overarching goal. I believe this type of music is the most debated and organized--everyone has a different idea of how well this goal has been reached.

Then there are the artists who make such personal music that the goal itself is irrelevant, and debate over its quality is generally ignored. You either 'feel' this music or you do not, and neither option says anything about the sophistication of your taste. There are a few albums that I think fit into this category, for example: Drudkh's Autumn Auroura, Agalloch's Pale Folklore, Univers Zero's Heresie, King Crimson's Red, Magma's MDK.

Kayo Dot are the latter. And I most definitely buy into it.

Dowsing Anemone is, in my opinion, the greatest achievement of modern music and the greatest synthesis of culture from Claude Debussy to The Beatles. The music is truly fearless: it does not care who it's audience is or how it feels, it knows how certain things will be thought of and it executes them without a second thought. The music is a constant dichotomy in equilibrium: beauty and pain in perfect balance (however pretentious that sounds). It is paced as fearlessly as it is constructed. Space is used as an instrument in and of itself, repetition a form of development. The lyrics are as poetic as the music, engineering the language to engender a completely abstract emotional response; it doesn't communicate any particular message, just an aesthetic.

Dowsing Anemone is filled with music that breathes and is sentient like an inanimate object in a Murakami novel. Being a sort of person in and of itself, the music can either be a friend to you or an enemy (hence my belief that Kayo Dot is not something you can be middle-ground on). Regardless, it is necessary you at least listen to it once. As for me, this album embodies the concept of a five-star album, and that's what I'll give it.

A wild and worthy first half runs dry in the second

Kayo Dot's second album is generally speaking a continuation of the wide-open experimentation and unconventional approach to the sound and concepts of music. And while half of the album is a worthy successor it fails to live up to the standard set by the glorious "Choirs" album. It's a tale of two albums in my view. The first three songs, while lacking the surface beauty of the Choirs material, are quite good and definitely worthy of your time and investigation. But it runs out of creative steam about 6 minutes into the 4th track and never recovers. As the last two tracks represent half of the one-hour running time, that's a problem.

"Gemini Becoming The Tripod" firmly establishes another bleak, barren landscape of post-apocalyptic ambient avant-metal. Wretched, tortured vocals writhing in pain with a tension filled chorus of sounds behind them, occasionally the drums and guitars will throw a body against the wall. In my "Choirs" review I mentioned it was like the sound that might fill your ear cavity just seconds before the plane crash, the screams mixed with the blown engines and fuselage torn apart rapidly descending. To try to describe the "feel" of the music I would say "Gemini" is like watching a gun battle in a war scene: the climax spurning furious guitars and rapid fire drumming sounding like an automatic weapon. An exhausting opener. "Immortelle And Paper Caravelle" offers strange minimal sounds before a lone bass guitar arrives with some comforting notes. Soon the noises cease as guitar and drums come in, very relaxed. Then we have some serene vocals with trumpet and violin and we have transformed to beauty from the pain of the first track. After some silence there are tiny guitar chords all alone with a menacing cello coming in and out of the picture. These small, lonesome clean chords wander through the rest of the track with occasionally violin sprites for companionship before the sun sets. "Aura On An Asylum Wall" has very unique sounding piano use in a jazzy sequence with trumpet. Teetering like a drunk on a high wire the song can't really decide where to go but the ride is no less fascinating. Violins and guitars are used as the more stable forces later in even providing brief glimpses of melody. The track slowly begins to constrict as the guitar/violin and bass/drums close and get faster before taking it over the cliff in a metal burst.

"___ On Limpid Form" starts very well with 6 minutes of formless beauty, dark and mysterious, with some nice guitar parts. But with all respect I personally chide them for wasting my time over the next dozen minutes with a repetitive sludge drone section that succeeds at little either emotionally or artistically. I understand that pushing the listener's buttons is admirable in prog but I appreciate it more when the artist is willing to show some compassion for the effort. These minutes are filled with dull, juvenile masturbation of the kind which Driver usually avoids. It was interesting the first time but does he really expect people to listen to this nonsense repeatedly? And people call Topographic Oceans pretentious? "Amaranth The Peddler" recovers a bit with some interesting guitar and drumming but I can't help but feel he has run a bit dry on ideas at this point. After the previous 18 minute track the 14 minutes here feel like stretched too thin. Much of the track is very minimal, just quiet spaces with delicate guitar touches. This kind of track can be rewarding but this is not the best example of the style I've heard.

If you are new to Kayo Dot I would strongly suggest starting with "Choirs of the Eye" before trying this album. It (Choirs) is more successful at what it attempts and significantly more appealing in my experience. That said, the first half of this one alone is enough to get 3 stars. I just wish they had released the first three songs as an EP

Kayo Dot - Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue

Kayo Dot's sophomore release is a lesson in development, and is, in several ways, a quite different beast from their debut. The sound on this album seems to focus more on its punches than its actual delivery and development leading up to the punches--which was the case with their previous effort, Choirs of the Eye. The result is an album full of surprises and departures from their previous effort, and this can be nothing but a good thing.

The album is much more tonal and also much darker. It feels more dense as well--this being especially evidenced on the tracks "Gemini Becoming the Tripod" and the latter 12 minutes of "____On Limpid Form". The album works just as well on the whole as the first did, and while it is not as emotionally stirring, it proves to be every bit as interesting and satisfying.

As has essentially been said, the album is, once again, a masterpiece, but a very different one from their first, which was, as Toby put it, was "much more of a studio album than Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue is.

Now, the music: The album starts off with a bang: "Gemini Becoming the Tripod" is a hellish feat of music that escalates like a time bomb into pure, athletic devil-territory as Toby and a guest vocalist scream bloody terror atop some very polarizing chords; it's all very unsettling, which is a good word for this song, I think. It proves to be, quite possibly, the most tense opener I've ever heard on an album.

The next song is way more relaxed, and reminds me vaguely of "Wayfarer" off of their first; although, as mentioned before, with much more attention to subtlety. It builds its way up slightly and then lets off for what is likely the most peaceful spot on the album, and then it drops away in a curtsy, bowing down for the majestic and powerful "Aura on Asylum Wall", which will prove to be the most "accessible" song on the album, if any of it can, in fact, be called this. It contains some very nice jazzier spots--with great trumpet and flute work (and obviously the amazing clarinets), and eventually it mounts its horse and rides on the wake of some terrifying Grindcore/black-metal noise, which closes off the track.

The last bit of the album is quite a hefty piece of pie to swallow. "___On Limpid Form" showcases some mellow, beautiful, detached songwriting for about 4 or so minutes, before it slowly recesses and unwinds into something completely different: The guitar wailing begins, and it doesn't let up--rather it escalates (much like the screams in the first track did), into something terrible (in an awesome way of course). I love this section, which many reviewers have noted as being unnecessary or uselessly experimental or long-winded, which may be a point to note if you are planning on checking this album out; however, I feel this escalation session is provocatively intense, and--yes--it has even caused me to break out in a sweat before while listening. It is emotionally draining, spine-tingling, and remorseless. Powerful.

"Amaranth the Peddler", which is the final track on the album (again, it is but a five-track affair), is like "____On Limpid Form", but simultaneously, it is the opposite. Let me explain myself: The song, again, starts off with a short, relieving piece, which is very quiet and peaceful, before it unwinds into more otherworldly adventures featuring the guitar and some wonderful violin playing (if you find yourself particularly enjoying this section of the album, then I highly recommend you listen to 60 Metonymies by Tartar Lamb, another side project of Toby Driver), and then...that's it. It wanders off, much like one who is lost in the woods as the sun is setting, and we are left wondering as to the conclusion of this album. Honestly, it sounds rough on paper perhaps, but after the tense breakdown at the end of the last track, it is a beautiful relief, and a wonderful closer.

On the whole, this album is every bit as good as their debut; however, it is not at all for the faint of heart. The sounds and abstractly vague passages later in the album could be a real stinger to some listeners, while the looser compositions and overall punchier sound may throw some fans of the debut off-balance. Nevertheless, I personally would still deem this a masterpiece; however, I'd like to note that it is not quite as perfect to me as their debut is. Still, it is nothing close to disappointing, and, in fact, is very close to perfection in my eyes. Once again, Kayo Dot scores 5 stars.

THE WORLD CLOOOOSED IT'S EEEYYYYEEESSSSSS!

I love this album, love it, and if it were an album by any other band besides Kayo Dot, it would be a five star album, but you cant give the same rating to one of the greatest masterpieces of all time, to a slightly lesser album by the same band, that's just not fair. So I'll have to reluctantly give this album a four star rating, but a good review will come with it.

2006, an awesome year for the music I listen to, Cult of Luna's Somewhere along the highway, Agallochs Ashes against the grain, Russian Circles Enter, Negura Bunget's Om, 65daysofstatic's One for all time, all albums I wouldn't rate less than four stars, especially somewhere along the highway. Yet, amongst all these incredible albums, you have Toby Driver, and his incredible band Kayo Dot throw in Dowsing the Anemone with the Copper tongue, a mesmerizing and enigmatic album, that, like almost all Kayo Dot/Maudlin of the Well albums go's from Minimalistic, to drone metal, to jazz all in five songs. This group knows no bounds, and with my twenty first century hero Toby Driver at the head of it all. Every song invokes a different feeling, and each completely opposite from the other, whether it be the avant garde chaos of the song Gemini becoming the tripod, or the drone/doom chaos of the last couple minutes of __On Limpid form, it's all different, it's all divers, and it's all excellent. This, like the Masterpiece that is Choirs of the eye is an album that needs to be addressed by song.

Gemini becoming the Tripod- If I had to choose a favorite song, this one would probably be it! The song kind of starts like Marathon, except with a little less edge, and not any horns, therefore you're not expecting hell on earth to jump up and bite you in the @ss like in the opener for Choirs... You are wrong! This song is just as evil as Marathon, except that the evil doesnt all come at you at once, you have to wait as Toby's voice gets more and more intense, as he eeks by every syllable, as if everything he is saying is paining him tremendously, and all that pain is spilling on to you. I love it, it's just a beautiful song, in a really sick and disgusting way, the ending of the song is almost as epic as The Manifold of curiosity's is, with one final scream from Toby, the song goes into one of Kayo Dots last metal moments as the drumming just gets ballistic while the guitars are wailing away to the end of the song.

Immortelle and the paper Caravelle- A very minimalistic song, almost no action, just an avant garde, easy listening song (that's right, I used the two in the same sentence), with odd instrumentation, pretty little jazzy forays, and some awesome, moody bass work. This song, unlike Gemini shows how the band has indeed moved from Choirs of the Eye, and metal in general, with no distorted guitars (barely any guitars to begin with), very little vocals, and almost no percussion. Yes, very minimalistic indeed, another killer classic in the book for Kayo Dot.

Aura on an Asylum Wall- The song that gets the most praise it seems, it starts kind of creepy, with some hushed vocals, and some driving piano, but as the song progresses, it becomes a jazz jam song, then a post metallish climax song, then just a weird metal song. Awesome no doubt, the best part is when the trumpet is flying around through the song while a semi easy going rhythm section just guides it along, while you're at the edge of your seat knowing this could not be the extent of chaos this song is gonna go to, ha, and it isn't. On the first listen, it's the easiest listening on the album, but as most Toby Driver albums, they usually end up being the least rewarding, but none the less, a great song. Now that you look back on it, this is also a crossover song to a lot of the music that would be on Blue Lambency downwards, heavy emphasis on the horns, and a lot of use of clean guitar for rhythm, rather than lead.

__On Limpid Form- One of the most controversial songs Progarchives has yet to hear, this is the song in which most of the listeners absolutely hated, and some have considered this groups their finest work. For the first six or so minutes, the song is just a weird jazzy song with some cool vocals, awesome atmosphere, a cool guitar solo, and semi chaotic closing. You must be asking what happens in the next twelve minutes of the song right? Hell happens. The same four or five chords happen, the most horrifying 12 minutes of your life happens, if you think you have the attention span to make it through *looks at The T and scoffs*. Unlike on The Antique off of Choirs, where he undistorted, dissonant guitar slowly distorts and become heavier, until your in death metal heaven, the guitar is already distorted, and the drums are already being hit faster than Keith Moon could have dreamt (The drums on this album are sick BTW), it's not more metal elements that come into play, it's more space and ambiance. Weird noises start creeping in, radio static, desks being hit with sticks, MANY MANY tracks of feedback. This keeps going to where you don't even need the guitars anymore, and when they drop out, you all the sudden find your in one of the scariest places in the musical spectrum this side of Universe Zero, absolutely terrifying, and I love every second of it, while it was hard to get into the song, when it clicked, it clicked, and I love it!

Amaranth the Peddler- Kayo Dots only downfall up until Blue Lambency Downwards. While a really easy going, and almost catchy four minutes starts off that almost reminds you of A pitcher of summer. This doesnt last, unlike Limpid, the last eight or so minutes of the song are just some simple dissonant minutes of Toby's guitar, while some horns either play, or make weird squeaking noises in the background. Other guitars come in gradually, and even some strings, but the song doesn't climax, maybe a cymbal hit every once in awhile, accompanied by the double bass, but really these last few minutes of the album are meant for ambiance, and minimalism, and really it's not bad, but when you consider the time, especially the time that could have been used for Kayo Dot to make some excellent music, there is a lot more potential then what is used. Don't get me wrong, I really like this final section, it's really soothing in a creepy kind of way, but I definitely was looking forward to something more grand than this to finish the album.

This album, behind Cult of Luna's, does deserve album of 2006. There's nothing else out there like it, it's completely original, the only other album that even close to this one is Kayo Dots first album, Choirs of the eye. Toby still has his edge on this one, he's still able to make captivating, and beautiful music, no matter in what form, everything he has done thus far has captured my mind, and I wont deny that he is my favorite musician to exist, and this collection of songs, along with Choirs, and the Maudlin catalogue are my reasons why. My only regret is that I am not allowing myself to rate this album the rating it probably deserves, but it simply doesn't stand up to Choirs of the eye, and to rate it the same as such a masterpiece is wrong doing. So this album will reluctantly get four stars from me.

Kayo Dot - 'Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue' 4 stars

This is one of those albums that you hear many times, yet still cannot give it a rating, more or less even a solid opinion. I first saw this as a harsh album then later caught some of the beauty in this and even hearing some early 70's era Crimson with the strings.

The album starts out just as frantic and eerie as the opener on the debut 'Choirs of the Eye' and is once again my least favorite because of the stellar tracks following it. There are plenty of clean jazz sections on the second and third tracks, with plenty of beautiful uplifting strings to accompany the pieces. Some of my personal hotspots on the album are the excellent melodies on 'Immortelle and Paper Caravelle' along with some really catchy lyrics. 'Aura on an Asylum Wall' has one of the best endings to any song, with a full-blown jazz first half, followed by an intense build-up that reminds me of King Crimson's 'Starless'.

One of the few weak-spots for me was the opener that was a little too similar to the last album and actually the BEGINNING of '___ On Limpid Form'; I find the ending to that song to be pretty hectic in a good way. This album ends very well with 'Amaranth the Peddler'; Toby's vocals are extremely hypnotic on this one which was great.

The growth factor really makes this album worthwhile.

I held the holy tripod and all the nothing held its breath Gemini solemnly split themselves The world closed its eyes Supreme love in the opposite The world hid in the clouds...

dowsing anemone with copper tongue is a singularly unique experience at once beautiful and terrifying. the closest album i can think of to compare this with is Can's Tago Mago but the two sound nothing alike so take that as you will. This album, or this band rather, is post rock in the way post rock abandons straightforward structures in favor of textures and atmosphere. but dont come here thinking this is another godspeed clone. you might just have an aneurysm. this is avant chamber calssical jazz metal. wait whats that? dont ask me im just throwing out words, those are the ones that stick but they dont really define the sound. You really have to hear this for yourself to make a fair judgment, if im to be as cliche as possible.

The album starts off fairly immediate with Gemini Becoming the Tripod, to which the lyrics above belong. The mysterious and echoey intro builds quickly to a loud (and i mean loud) climax of violins and guitars and shouts and a swirling texture which fades quickly to a single note. This is the most dynamic single not i have ever heard. Kayo dot takes this single violin note and stretches it, slowly... exploring every possible facet of its character building up an unbelievable tension untill 6 minutes later it just cannot take it; the note releases this pent up tension/energy and is torn to shreds and kayo dots trademark avant metal is unleashed. Genius. wait it gets better? oh yes. hold on to your pants.

The following songs float in and out - like the beautiful, wispy Immortelle and Paper Caravelle - only to come thundering in with the ominous and driving Aura On An Asylum Wall which picks up pace and provides more than enough structure for any of the haters to find something to love cough**T**cough. relatively straightforward. One of the best crescendo's this band has accomplished. jazz jam leads to a series of arpeggios from the guitar that lead back into another explosive and chaotic avant metal charge, a headlong rush lead by a massive bass.

Are you still holding on to your pants? well you can let go now because they are going to be blown off by the next 30 or so minutes of music regardless of how tight of a grip you've got.

__ On Limpid Form

Take the noisiest sections from The Antique (a song which no doubt anticipates this entire album) and amplify them. then crank the amps up to 11. Now add washes of feedback and frantic percussion. Now imagine playing this in hell. you are beginning to get the idea. thats not to say that this is scary or 'hellish' sounding. just... intense. raw. this track is thunderous. and i love it.

Amaranth The Peddler The photo negative of __ On Limpid Form and the effect it achieves is as such very different from it. Beautiful and unsettling. It keeps floating formlessly on after a wonderful and deceptively structured beginning that lasts till the halfway mark. If __On Limpid Form was the sound of your brain dissolving into flames, this is the sound of the aftermath, of the blackened ashes wafting away. perfect.

I cant give this album any less than 5 stars. Choirs of the eye might be my favorite from Kayo dot (from music for that matter) but its grimy little monster of a cousin is the genius.

Artistic, beautiful, terrifying, aggressively challenging ... "Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue" is the consumate avant-garde release, and will either leave you gushing with praise for its audaciousness, or lost in the vacuum of its enervating nihilism. You've been warned.

The tone of the opening track, "Gemini Becoming the Tripod" sets a dark and fragile tone for the album. Distorted, delicate guitar strums out tones giving way to a gradually building palette of slow-tempo intensity. Most listeners will be onboard for this introductory section, which is indicative of the "quite" sounds one will hear in this album; they are very beautiful, moody, and exceptionally well-played. When things explode, they do so in a big way, and most listeners will be immediately tempted to push STOP. The huge crescendo of percussive violence, anxiety inducing strings and guitar, and the non-stop wailing of bizarre vocals positively shatter the one's composure-- some will love it, others will be on the verge of a panic attack.

The second track slows things down, opening up the composition with airy textures and a variety of instrumental mood. The vocals shift to delicate melodies, almost etheric in quality with words becoming more notes than lyrics. Throughout the album these more moody moments shine, with moments of jazzy improvosation and intriguing use of minimalist playing. "Aura on the Asylum Wall" is probably the best example of this, with Driver's songwriting capitulating into giving us a few solos, although the savage bass close is a cool touch. The pattern continues, with the big, world-destroying intensity returning and giving way, closing the album with the wonderfully nuanced "Amarath the Peddler".

"Dowsing Anemone" is an incredibly difficult album to listen to, but it never felt like a chore... more like a challenge. Its tone is one of near psychosis, taking the listener on wild mood swings of fairy-tale beauty to nightmarish destruction. This music is not for everyone-- especially those who need something human to latch on to in their listener (like melodies or structure), but it rewards those up to the task with a genuine font of musical jewels to lose oneself in.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 4 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

After having mixed feelings towards Kayo Dot's debut album it still managed to come up on top thanks to the opening and closing compositions. It's true that this particular genre of music has so far been a hit-and-miss for me but after the debut album it felt like this band could only improve with every new release since there wasn't really any lack of skill on their part.

So why would I even consider giving this follow up album the collectors/fans only label? Let me begin by stating that Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue does in fact have some really nice parts but as a whole this albums doesn't hold together all that well. For some strange reason this particular release works best when the band keeps the songs under the 11-minute mark. That way there is enough time to convey the emotion/atmosphere without making things feel too stale or over-the-top experimental.

I just can't get over the feeling that Kayo Dot is making long compositions just for the sake of it. Those tracks go in many different directions but at the end don't bring much joy or pleasure to my ears. Surprisingly the previous album's 14-minute long tracks never had that particular problem but those compositions always had a sense direction which gave them a purpose. I guess that I have to draw the line somewhere and the 18-minute monster of a track known as ___ On Limpid Form is a good place to do just that.

There is just nothing here that comes even remotely close to some of the fantastic compositions available on Choirs Of The Eye and therefore I don't see why anyone but the fans of this band would have any reason to even consider purchasing this release.

**** star songs: Gemini Becoming The Tripod (10:43) Immortelle And Paper Caravelle (9:42) Aura On An Asylum Wall (7:44)

*** star songs: ___ On Limpid Form (18:00) Amaranth The Peddler (14:07)

Choirs of the Eye, Kayo Dots debut album, was a large departure from the music of the bands predecessor maudlin of the Well, and a hugely successful one at that, but Toby Driver posseses anything but a stagnent imagination and the band has once more moved on. The results this time, however, are quite a mixed bag.

Frustration is the word that comes to mind to describe this album. Half of it is captivating, rocking, beautiful, calm, dissonant, melodic and many other adjectives that could probably fill this review on there own, in short an emotional rollercoaster that never fails to leave me on a high. The problem is its just the half of it. The first half to be precise. The second half touches on the emotions of the first, but doesnt quite reach the same heights and for large swayths brings in elements that I really, really dont care for.

Of the five tracks on this album, its the first three (Gemini Becomeing the Tripod, Immortelle and Paper Carravelle and Aura on an Asylumn Wall) that capture me fully. Gemini... sounds something like a continuation of the music from Choirs of the Eye, however it quickly becomes apparant that Post-Rock has become a major part of the music. Its this that has lead to the long time (and in my opinion errant) labelling of Kayo Dot as a Post-Metal band, but its only one aspect of the music and, though I am by no means a fan of the Post-Rock genre, its been used exceptionally well here. Immortelle... is the first Kayo Dot song to be completely devoid of metal, and as an experiment into the direction that Driver would eventually take the band, it works fantastically. Its one track were dissonance isnt called on too much and instead makes way for a clamer melody building slowly but surely to a moment of triumph. Aura... is an unuseul track in that it sounds the closest to Choirs of the Eye Kayo Dot of any of the first three tracks, but also sounds fairly different due to the fact that metal is pretty much missing from here as well. The sound can be charecterised as a heavy rock, where the heavyness comes from the tones of the bass, guitar, violin and trumpet rather than the distortion, except for the last minute orso which gets pretty close to being metal, but is entirely dominated by the heaviest bass guitar sound I have ever heard. In a way it works as a paired down version of The Manifold Curiosity, so its no surprise that this is my favourite track on the album.

From here on out its where the band lost me for one simple, but very important reason: they introduced drone music as a major element. Both __on Limpid Form and Amaranth the Peddler start out in a similar vein to the first three tracks, but around the 6 to 7 minute mark they veer off into a drone that lasts well over half of each song. Though I've heard plenty of arguments for the development present in these tracks, I dont hear it at all. ..Limpid Form has the same crashing guitar chords going for most of the songs and the work done over the top of this comes of as noodily, and a hald hearted attempt to liven things up. The live version of this song condenses things down a lot and adds direction to it all that just isnt present here. Amaranth is just plain noodily for most of the song and lacks cohesivness, but at least some of the things they try sound interesting.

I think by now its become clear that drone music does not sit well with me at all. As I said earlier, frustration is a the word I'd use to sum up this album because thats the overiding emotion following a complete run-through ( I must admit most times that I play this album now, I skip past the endings of the last two songs), which is a huge shame because the first three songs are of an exceptional quality, to a level that most bands could only dream of, but is followed by tedium that actually last for more than half the album. Still very much worth having for those first 3 songs.

'Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue' - Kayo Dot (6/10)

It's always a real dissapointment when you get really worked up to listen to a band and album, and it satiates very little of your musical thirst. That seems to be the case here with Kayo Dot's 'Dousing Anemone...' Having already been a huge fan of maudlin of the Well and what Toby Driver had accomplished with that project, I was greatly excited to dive into what is generally considered to be the continuation of that band. While maudlin really seemed to get the concept of balancing beauty and experimentation just right, Kayo Dot goes overboard with this one, going as far as throwing a 19 minute drone-texture jam in the middle of what otherwise could have been a much better album.

'Dousing Anemone' certainly has the potential to appeal to some people; I won't contest that. However, with the exception of the few beautifully done, more 'conventional' parts of the work, most of the time it's either too quiet or too uneventful for it's own good. Believe me, I'm all for musicians being creative and tripping into the realm of the avant-garde... I rescind that belief when being 'avant-garde' means bursting out with barrages of guitar sludge for fifteen minutes however, or whining in monotone for minutes on end.

The only two songs that manage to be throughly good and interesting compositions are the second and third tracks, 'Immortelle & Paper Caravelle' and 'Aura On An Asylum Wall.' The first of the mentioned tracks has some of the most beautiful orchestrations of the entire piece of music, and the third track is certainly the most consistent; immediately breaking into a vocal section before turning into a beautiful instrumental jazzy section with the violinist at the helm. The remaining three tracks certainly have moments of real inspiration that are reminiscent of Driver's past work, but the real issue here is that I can have a much, much greater concentration of those great inspired sections on any maudlin of the Well release. Why then, would I choose the new Kayo Dot over something that's tried and true?

One of the real highlights of the album is the string work of violinist Mia Matsumiya. While it's clear that every musician working in this avant act is drenched in talent, she really brightens up every section she is in. Without her, this would be a much darker and bleaker trip to take.

Overall, this is quite a poor introduction to Kayo Dot, and while I will definately look at more of the band's repetoire (avant-garde bands have a tendency of changing their act constantly) 'Dousing Anemone With Copper Tongue' has certainly left a bitter taste in my mouth, much as copper would in real life. This is worth a listen for the few truly beautiful moments it has to offer, but it's certainly not worth a purchase when there is so much other stuff that's much more consistent to listen to. Two stars, and at times; that might even be a stretch.

After the astonishing and beautiful debut, Kayo Dot in 2006 releases their second album, with a rather strange title, "Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue". At the release of this album, and still today, there has been a pretty big controversy: some think that it's a masterpiece (PA collaborators named it album of the year), while others think that it's a really bad and useless effort, where the use of avantgarde goes too far.

"Gemini Becoming the Tripod" starts everything. Copmpared to the genius "Marathon, it isn't much of an intro. But there are some moments here that really scared me: after a pretty soft intro, accompanied by Driver's soft voice, the song slowly becomes more enlivened, and Driver's voice begins to be more angry and creepy, thanks to some screaming and to his suspended vocals. Now the atmosphere is tense and kind of scary, it seems like it could explode into a fierce song any second. But that moment never comes, leaving the audience pretty stunned.

"Immortelle And Paper Caravelle" is much more minimalistic and calm, with many delicate moments. In fact, some are so delicate that you can barely hear them. A big contrast to the previous song, but very effective, so you can take a sort of a break from all those sinister moods.

"Aura On an Asylum Wall" is yet another contrast: the song is violent, with a very bizarre feeling, a little disturbing and creepy, but much more violent compared to the previous song. At least for the first couple of minutes: after a while, the sax comes in, the atmosphere is suspended between calm and strong, a peculiar balance that probably makes "Aura On An Asylum Wall" the best song off this album.

"__On Limpid Form" is the most controversial song off the album. Many have hated this song, because of it's excessive and repetitive moments. It's a 18 minute song, the longest Kayo Dot song so far, where at least ten minutes are stale and bleak, if not also monotonous, where the same chord is played, with a pretty violent and rude touch. I personally am not a big of this song either, even though I do find it quite interesting in many points.

"Amaranth The Peddler" is the final 14 minute song. Like "Immortelle...", it is quite a minimalistic song, and it seems like just a few cymbals are playing. Some moments are enjoyable, nice and calm, but certainly not melodic, a word that obviously does not exist in Kayo Dot's vocabulary.

In conclusion, I must say that it is a bit overlooked, and it really should be more appreciated by prog fans, since generally all the songs are worth listening. Of course, I don't think any die hard metal fan would like "Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue", for the fact that it truly has some excessive touches of avant garde.

And I so wanted to get into this band...

This album was my second experience of Kayo Dot. I started out with the debut, and I liked it very much. So I went on to listen to the second album, which started out promising. Then it all went wrong...

A description of the music: "Gemini Becoming the Tripod" is a dark way to start the album. Mostly an ambient song, it contains the occasional breath of life. The strongest track on the album, and definitely a winner for fans of ambience. "Immortelle and Paper Caravelle" is a slow track that borders on easy listening. It contains some pretty catchy melodies and lyrics. "Aura On An Asylum Wall" starts off really dark, but then becomes a pretty jazzy song. A catchy song and quite the enjoyable listen.

If the rest were like the start, it'd be a 4 star album. But we're left with an 18 minute and a 14 minute song, both of which really peaked my curiosity when I saw the lengths. The 18 minute song is "___ On Limpid Form". It starts out very promising with quiet and very beautiful sounding vocals. Then, about 5 minutes in, we reach a breakdown section. So, you'll be waiting for this to pickup and get back into the brilliant song you've heard before.... but no, it doesn't. This carries on for the final 13 minutes of the song. 13 minutes of absolutely useless "music" and extreme pretentiousness. This is sort of like what you'll find in King Crimson's "Moonchild," but I find Moonchild is enjoyable if you just sit down and relax to it, but this is just unenjoyable. This has got to be the worst epic-length song I've ever heard! So after that snoozefest was over, I was excited for the next song which I expected would be a large improvement and great end to the album. "Amaranth the Peddler" is the final track, and barely better then the one before it. It starts out with a pretty cool intro, and the rest is just...boring. More pretentiousness and self-indulgence.

PROS:

The first half: The first half is pretty slow, avant music that is very enjoyable. If the entire album were like this, it'd receive a much higher rating from me. Unfortunately, it isn't.

Vocals: Toby Driver is a very talented singer, and he doesn't disappoint on this album. He can sound beautiful, and can create suspenseful moments.

CONS:

The last two songs: These two "epics" are some of the worst excuses for epics I've ever heard. Just chock full of self-indulgence that is unbearable to listen to.

Quietness: If you don't like constant quieter music, stay away from this album altogether. You will not like what you'll find.

Song ratings:

Gemini Becoming The Tripod: 7/10 Immortelle and Paper Caravelle: 6/10 Aura On An Asylum Wall: 6.5/10 ___ On Limpid Form: 0/10 Amaranth The Peddler: 0.5/10

Recommended for: Patient people.

My rating: 2 stars. Since the first 3 are okay, it doesn't get 1 star.

What else can be said about the album? It's gorgeous. What I love about it is that I've never heard anything like it at all. I don't know if I would say it is as innovative as Larks' Tongues In Aspic. That album sounds like nothing else and this album seems to be a large large mash of influences. Maybe Larks' is just a mash up of influences as well, we just haven't heard the influence.

Toby Driver's guitar work is phenomenal here. He appropriately rejects normal root + 5th power chords and gets creative with his choice of harmony. The non-standard guitar tuning he's using is readily made for uncommon chords. Euphonium and trumpet are featured and add a surprisingly marvelous texture. I don't think I would change a single thing about the album. Listening to it is an incredible experience. Also- the album cover is great. As well as the song titles. The imagery the words carry match the music PERFECTLY. :)

As evidenced by the breadth of the reviews for this album, it is quite difficult to get into. KAYO DOT's brand of avant-garde music really comes into their own on this release. Their debut, CHOIRS OF THE EYE, felt to me a little bit too much like a more focused MAUDLIN OF THE WELL continuation. Granted, that meant I loved it, but there was a sense of retreading old ground and learning about how this new beast could work that only fully came to bear on this album.

The first two songs are meandering and beautiful. They drift about somewhat freely, but each line is interesting and the mix is deep enough to have something interesting going on in the interplay at all times. The opener, "Gemini Becoming the Tripod", has some sections of violent screams and violent noise which perfectly encapsulates the necessity for heavier genres, I feel; he gets across a sense of anguish, anger and darkness that is quite different from what is available with cleaner registers and it creates a genuinely disturbing atmosphere. The second track is pretty all the way throughout, which is an excellent reprieve. The third tracks brings back some very heavy elements.

At this point, you're probably noticing that I am brushing over these earlier tracks. This is for two reasons: 1) I feel quite a lot has been said about them by other reviewers that leaves me with little that I could really contribute and feel satisfied with, but most importantly 2) the fourth track, "___ On Limpid Form" is so astounding to me that I want to spend some time on that one.

"___ On Limpid Form" is what broke the album for me. I don't mean "break" in the sense of destroy, but pushed through into me like a knife. Be warned that the track is heavy on noise, drone, and industrial sounds; the majority of it is a thick, doomy haze of oppressive sounds, featuring heavily distorted instruments pounding away mercilessly at a singular groove. This is almost as minimal as you get without drifting into SUNN O))) territory. However, the sound of this is powerful beyond belief. If you have an ear for drone, noise, or industrial sounds, this will take your breath away. Think early THROBBING GRISTLE pounding with the intensity of BLACKONE-era Sunn or perhaps early period EARTH and you'll have a good idea of how intense this part is. It took my breath away. Another point of comparison would be if you cut LOU REED's METAL MACHINE MUSIC up into 10-minute chunks and layered them all on top of one another. Pure catharsis through the sheer power of violent noise. The other tracks are really, really good, but this one makes this a masterpiece for me.

"Amaranth the Peddler" is a perfect closer to this album. It focus on pretty, melodic sounds, but has rather mysterious chord voicings and progressions backing it, keeping a similar meandering feel as the opener. It doesn't touch on the heavier elements; TOBY DRIVER and company wisely understood that those parts had been used enough and let "Amaranth" focus on being rather poetic and lyrical with some easing music behind it. Still avant-garde, yes, but closer in feel to the modal explorations of MILES DAVIS or MWANDISHI-era HERBIE HANCOCK.

For me, a great deal of what makes this album so perfect is its sequencing. The opening track has bits of all the sounds that will follow, the second one offers an exploration of quiet sounds, the third explores the heavy sounds, the fourth sets up a moment of pure catharsis, and the last track brings you down and lets you breathe a bit. It feels like a true album, in which the songs complement and comment upon one another. Brilliant piece of work.

And now, for a personal note to Toby and anyone in control of pressing this album: This has been out of printed for at least the past year or two, which is a crime. Of all Kayo Dot's albums, this is my absolutely favorite and to not be able to purchase it feels like a crime. I am aware that this is likely because sales on other Kayo or related albums are not high enough to afford a repressing, and this saddens me.

So, to everyone reading this far: Buy their back catalog so that, one day, I might own a physical copy of this album. Yes, this plea is selfish, but you have to know how much I love this thing!

Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue shows a different, but related, facet of Kayo Dot as did Choirs of the Eye. As far as the band's music is describable in these terms, there are post-metal elements on the album, but Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue exhibits more atmospheric chamber tendencies than its predecessor.

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Gemini Becoming the Tripod is chaotic on a cosmic level and features some of Driver's most tortured, gripping vocals to date. It winds up like in a slow death march, building in tension one twist at a time, until the coil reaches its breaking point, and the listener is catapulted into a remote sector of the universe where the stars shine grey and copper. And then... silence. Song rating: 10/10

Immortelle and Paper Caravelle is one of Kayo Dot's most beautiful pieces, and my ears interpret it as an audio manifestation of the white "copper tongues" on the album cover. The music shimmers and waves back and forth like a fragile organism deep beneath the sea where little light reaches. It is peaceful there, as if a white blanket of multitudinous tongues envelope the listener with gentle metallic clanking. The piece ends with gentle waves of plucked violins which transition to layers of repetitive violin melodies before fading to silence. Song rating: 9/10

Aura on an Asylum Wall is a brooding, jazzy track which meanders along until its pace suddenly increases and without warning bursts into a violent noise section with glitchy vocals. The song is strong, but it doesn't seems as well-developed as the two preceding pieces. Song rating: 8/10

___ On Limpid Form shows Kayo Dot succumbing to the fate that their music was always liable to fall victim to; it implodes on itself. The track begins and ends as a dark, spacious piece of music, but in between there is about 10 minutes of atmospheric meandering that adds nothing to the song or the album. There are successful moments in the song, and it certainly maintains a strong sense of its atmosphere, but it is too unfocussed to succeed as a piece of music. I suppose something this atmospheric was a necessary centerpiece for the album, but the band takes it slightly too far. Song rating: 6/10

Amaranth the Peddler slowly drifts up to the water's surface and reveals a scene to the listener. The song opens with straight-forward (though restrained) vocals, but it slowly pans out to a monotonous, minimalistic musical landscape. Although there is a person in the scene, he is a dot against the twilight-lit sea. And all fades to silences as wind blows at the end of the song. Song rating: 8/10

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I initially gave Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue 8/10 because of its weak atmospheric peace, but I decided that was too harsh a rating. Despite its imperfection, the album stands as an incredible musical achievement, and I can't regard the album as a whole as anything other than a masterpiece.

Rating: 9/10

Even if I can't stand too much with screams and chaos when it's apparently useless as in the second half of "Gemini Becomes The Tripod", I realized that this is a song that needs several listens, because it's only "apparently" useless. Well, I can't understand any single word of what is being screamed and probably the lyrics could help.

Then I'm surprised by the ambient music of "Immortelle And Paper Caravelle" with vocals and trumpet over calm and relaxing music, even if dark. This fits with my personal tastes and demonstrates, in addition, that there's much more in this album than what could appear at the first listen.

There's a bit of scream also on "Aura On An Asylum Wall", but the jazzy mood of the trumpet solo first and the violin later is excellent. It's still dark but of a different kind of darkness: the darkness of a smoky pub, at least until the jazz mood is replaced by the tension of an odd signature and a crescendo. Here the band demonstrates a lot of skill, too.

The "odd signature" makes me return to the first track. The key is the fact that there's absolutely no signature. It's demonstrated that our brains are constantly searching for schemes and rules. We are mathematical machines, and when a passage is too trivial there's no surprise at all, but in general we are used to rhythm and melodies because our brains need them. "Gemini" doesn't have anything of this and it's what makes it a challenging experience. I still don't like the screaming but it's clearer that the experiment consist in not giving to the listener any possibility to anticipate what is coming.

Now let's go on with the epic (in terms of length) "___On Limpid Form". When Kayo Dot goes into ambient it'e when I like them more. I like the trumpet, the slow rhythm and also the pauses of silence. When the jazzy mood disappears replaced by disconnected chords of distorted guitar and drums the change is not sudden but what comes is totally different. There's no jazz at all and we are back to the no-signature style of the first track. This is music for headphones. Without putting your mind "inside the music" this may seem meaningless and boring. I understand who has rated this album very low. They have probably chosen the wrong state of mind when approaching it. This track, in the most dissonant part puts me in a sort of hypnagogic state. Like being awaken but with hours of jet lag. Back to the band, it's clearly a jam session but as it happens in jazz they know what they do.

"Amaranth The Peddler" starts very low-volume. It takes about one minute before a bass piano note is heard. Here I see a connection with classic contemporary. The dissonances and the absence of a signature, plus the fact that the instruments are acoustic: piano, viola and percussions makes it strict. This time the singing is calm and warm. There's a bit of melody and metric and the voice reminds me to Art Garfunkel for the warmth. When the rhythm is added after a short drum roll it's more similar to a "normal song", but it doesn't last long. Floydian noises, I mean wind and discordant notes of piano and violin like in the middle section of Echoes change the mood, but more than psychedelic it's closer to classical authors like Ligety. Then it proceed seamlessly with piano, guitar and a background of sliding violin strings and percussions until the end. Very calm and relaxing even if not properly melodic.

It's an excellent album, the word "any" in the 4 stars definition makes me think. It requires open mind and attention. It requires the "right moment".

And I think I'll never like the screams on the first track.

After falling in love with 'Choirs of The Eye', the second Kayo Dot album initially came as a bit of a disappointment. I admit the main reason was my ambivalent position towards Toby Driver's vocals. Driver uses his vocals as much for melody as for emotional expression, and while he can touch me right where it hurts, it can also be a total miss. In many cases I swing position on the matter one day to the next, so my rating indicates where I stand on this matter today. Tomorrow I will tell you something else entirely. Confusing yes, but you sure can't say Kayo Dot is boring.

The album starts with the challenging 'Gemini Becoming the Tripod', a composition that is as unsettling as its title, with heavily chromatic heavy guitar arpeggios, an oppressive atmosphere and very confronting vocals that cry and try to pierce through your skull. This track is a strange experience, when played at an ear-shattering volume it's brilliant, at normal gain it can be quite annoying, or should I say disturbing?

After this enormous start, the music quiets down, becoming increasingly free-form and subdued. Coming from the heavy opener, the shift that Kayo Dot made from experimental metal to avant-garde music could be made more apparent.

'Aura On An Asylum Wall' is more rocking and jazzy. Instrumental, apart for a short introduction, if you'd ask me to put this in a box I'd call this nu-jazz, but Kayo Dot isn't the sort of music you would want to put in a box; it would upset too much people when opening it.

'On Limpid Form' is an ambitious 18 minutes long. It starts jazzy, with strong - almost catchy! - vocals that remind me (again) of Jeff Buckley. The track gets gradually heavier, more atonal and chaotic. It works quite well for me but it might be too long and uneventful for other listeners.

If the lengthy 'On Limpid Form' is a serious attack on one's attention span, the challenging 14 minute 'Amaranth' asks another heavy effort from the listener. Maybe too heavy, it's slow, languid and free-form, and not good enough as a closer for this album, even though the section with the vocals is quite blissful.

Despite a somewhat disappointing ending, this is still an excellent and defining album. It's may be too difficult to serve as an introduction to this band so approach with care.

While I rated Choirs of the Eye a five star masterpiece, this one is a disappointment for the band's choice to explore moments of especially experimental metal. The dynamic contrasts are remarkable and often too stark for my tolerances. The softer, more atmospheric sections are rather hypnotic and even beautiful, though usually drawn out far beyond my interest level. I'm not a huge fan of the effect placed on the use of horns here, but Mia's violin work is as gorgeous as ever--maybe her best ever. There may be compositional elements of genius, but the resultant sound is just obtuse and, often, boring. As an album listening experience, it's just too long and drawn out to sit through in one sitting (which I like to do).

Best songs: "__on Limpid From" (18:00) (9/10) and "Immortelle And Paper Caravelle" (9:42) (8.5/10)

"Choirs of the Eye", the previous album by Kayo Dot was a masterpiece. This was dangerous for a debut album for this band, even if they are all accomplished musicians, because it set the bar high for the follow up album. Guess what? They got themselves another masterpiece. But they did it without copying anything from the previous album. This album is a masterpiece on it's own merit. If anything, this one shows more cohesiveness within each track. Each epic song has it's own basic feel to it and seems to have more focus, for the most part anyway. Now this is not really a flaw in the previous album, but it is a difference between the albums and it pays off in both cases.

Reviewers outside of PA have said this album is a lot heavier. Except for the track "____On Limpid Form", I don't find this to be true. The album starts out with "Gemini Becoming the Tripod" which is somewhat heavy, but not in the extreme. The vocals on this one are almost dirty vocals (growly) all through the track, but there is a lot going on here, just like there is throughout every track. There is a lot of space in the music allowing a lot of improvisational work along with the structured work. A loud track but not extreme except for in little spurts. Very dynamic. The next track is closer to ambient, though I wouldn't go so far as to call it that, it only approaches it. The vocals are soft, there are nice short touches of jazz and even though it stays pretty soft through all 9 minutes, the time goes by quickly because of the beauty of the track with enough dissonance to keep things interesting.

"Aura on an Asylum Wall" is the shortest track at over 7 minutes, but it is an amazing example of dynamics with the overall feeling of the track being around the midway point between extremes. The jazz and orchestral passages through this track are wonderful and the interplay of the instruments is perfect. As I said earlier, "___On Limpid Form" is extremely heavy. It starts out innocently enough with vocals and stays innocent for about the first 5 1/2 minutes, then a sudden build of dirty heavy guitars, a wall of sound, starts to build, plodding along almost like an early Swans track, but without any discernible hooks, mostly noise, with feedback being added slowly into the mix. Soon the feedback becomes a lead instrument almost playing a melody of sorts, this track is extreme to the max by the end. The last track is more of a free form, with a small amount of structure, remaining dark, but much more sparse than the previous track. Plucked guitar chords with strings whining and screeching very low in the background and an occasional lead violin weaving around the guitar. It's a nice cool down after the previous track and a good way to complete the album.

I have yet to hear anything conventional by Kayo Dot. They explore so many styles of music, usually centering around harshness that exists between musical palettes. The best label to put on this music is definitely avant-garde. They were early on looped into the Progressive or Art Metal category, because of their harshness and their tie ins to their previous band, but they go so far beyond that. This is music in the abstract with it's roots in Progressive rock and as I have said in other reviews, it is worthy to hopefully be added in with a Classical Music category some day. Kayo Dot is one of the best bands for effectively mixing styles and being innovative.

Their next album "Blue Lambency Downward" is somewhat of a departure and it suffers for it. I understand the need to explore, but, even though it is still excellent, it is very dense all the way through with very little let up. I don't mean dense in a metal way either, it is dense as there are so many things going on without a lot of recognizable structure. It takes a lot more getting used to, but the amazing sounds present in this and "Choirs of the Eye" are harder to find. If you are looking into finding a way to hear what this band has to offer, be prepared that it will be different from anything else you have heard. I would say it is closer to Mars Volta's first album than anything, but even then that is a half assed attempt to compare it to something else that a lot of people have heard. But this album, or the previous album, are your best bets for initiating yourself into this music. I suggest you have an open mind and that you listen to it a few times before passing judgement. Kayo Dot had become one of my favorite bands to follow lately because I am always excited to see where they go next.

Highly recommended to everyone that is willing to explore. A masterpiece once again for Kayo Dot. 5 stars.

4.5 Stars. The greatest 4 star album of all time!

Kayo Dot are one of those bands that can take many years to appreciate, let alone enjoy, which has been the case for most of their albums. This is due to the band's constant desire to push the boundaries of music to the maximum and to reinvent their sound with every album. Dowsing is the follow up to their most highly acclaimed album "Choirs of the eye" which has gradually positioned itself as one of my top 3 all-time favourite records.

Dowsing can be seen as a continuation of Choirs due to the similar instrumentalisation and quiet-Load flow of the album. However Dowsing has a far greater range of atmospheres compared to the former record, to the point that each of the 5 tracks are so diverse that each one could have come from a completely different album. A track by track review is needed to enforce my point:

"Gemini Becoming The Tripod" starts the album off in a very similar vein to what was found in Choirs. You are firstly given a instrumental maelstrom along with background screams that swirl around you in organised chaos. This settles down into the main section of the song, which is a incredibly slow 5 min build up with sporadic drums and blasting bass happening every few seconds. But what is distinctive to the song is Toby's vocals. They start as a deep groaning which develop into 10-15 second long screams, over and over to the point where you expect Toby's voice to shatter from the amount of strain on his voice-box. Its drone-black metal at its most extreme and for people not used to the genre will probably alienate 80% of people in this site simply due to that voice-shattering primal screaming and wailing.

...and "Immortelle And Paper Caravelle" is the 100% opposite to the album opener. This is 9 min of beautiful bliss and to date (2016's PHOBOS included) the most chilled out song KD have ever written. The opening and closing sections of the song can be described best as abstract and dreamlike, which could send you easily off to sleep, while the middle part of the song sounds like a gloriously instrumented pop song.

"Aura On An Asylum Wall" can be seen as the half-way house between the violent extremes of the opening two tracks. After a few tense start-stop vocal moments the song goes into a Crimson-inspired instrumental which is full of energy and ideas. The intensity slowly builds up until it climaxes into black-metal screams and instrumental chaos. Honestly this is one of the most impressive Prog instrumentals out there and is the most accessible of the 5 songs. Its also the only song on Dowsing that can be considered fast-paced.

The first 4 minutes of "___ On Limpid Form" continue the KC Prog from the last track and make for a nice, self contained track in its own right. But instead of finishing the final sparks of the song refuse to die and gradually morph into a monster 12 min drone-metal marathon. All the momentum of the last song + 4 min is gone completely and the listener's patience is truly tested. The dynamics of the song is also challenging as it pulses from too quiet to ear-bleedingly load in a space of seconds. The track slowly goes from one theme to another until it finishes with Godspeed you! post-rock noise. A very challenging 18 minutes.

"Amaranth The Peddler" however can be seen as a more abstract and inaccessible cousin to track two, with the opening and closing sections being very challenging avant-garde soundscapes and the middle being a oddball avant-prog track. The closest comparison I can make is KC's Moonchild, i.e. you need to be in the right headspace for it otherwise its just random noise.

You may have noticed I've not given my personal opinion on most of these songs. Well to me each song is a clear 5 stars in their own right, and each one makes huge strides in expanding the boundaries of established music. However the major problem with Dowsing is that the musical canvass is so overwhelmingly wide that there is little to no coherency between any of the songs. I never listen to this album from start to finish, in fact in my head I treat Dowsing as 5 mini albums in their own right (Like that seen on "Don't touch dead animals"). How on earth does Toby and co expect me to go from the brutal 10 second screams of Gemini, to the pure tranquility of Immortelle, to the epic Prog instrumental of Aura, followed by the glacial and brutal Limpid and finally to the pure avant soundscapes of Amaranth over the space of 1 hour and not lose my mind!? When each song is so different to the others and three of the five tracks are incredibly challenging the band are asking far too much for the listener to be able to handle.

So in summary this is a masterpiece of avant-garde music, but it does not function at all within the traditional album context. For this reason I just cannot give it 5 stars, because I never have and probably never will play Dowsing from start to finish. Treat it as a 5 separate KD albums.

After the original breakup of Maudlin of the Well, Toby Driver found a new direction to steer the avant-garde smorgasbord that mixed art rock, post-rock and progressive rock together in the cauldron with extra servings of extreme metal mixed into the pot but Driver didn't waste any time putting together a new band that could carry these avant-garde tendencies to the next level. KAYO DOT was assembled in 2003 with Driver himself behind the steering wheel and a welcoming debut release called "Choirs Of The Eye' on John Zorn's Tzadik Records. Several Maudlin members also went along for the ride and together they created one of the most unique sounding albums of the entire 2000s. "Choirs Of The Eye" was part modern classical, part post-rock, part chamber music and part avant-garde metal. While the debut album caught the world's attention and instantly brought KAYO DOT into spotlight at least in terms of the prog rock and metal underground, Driver decided to take the band into even stranger arenas from then on.

Arriving three years later, the surreally named DOWSING ANEMONE WITH COPPER TONGUE delivers the bizarre avant-garde fortitude that the title suggests. With a label jump to Robotic Empire Records, the band continued the intricately designed sprawling compositions and took them into even more bizarre and complex experimentation with a huge army of instrumentalists delivering an orchestra of bleak sonic oppression that exhibited a truly labyrinthine fusion of modern classical, avant-garde jazz, post-metal and chamber rock. It was clear that KAYO DOT's instant popularity wasn't heading in a more accessible direction and on the contrary DOWSING ANEMONE WITH COPPER TONGUE is one of those albums that requires a multitude of listening experiences preferable in a wide range of moods to really find its way under your skin but ultimately casts a long-lasting spell as it slowly sinks into your psyche like a parasitic hookworm!

While classified as metal, the heavier parts are intermittent with much focus on the slithering slow chamber rock and jazzy touches ratcheting up the tension in the same fashion as any good Godspeed! You Black Emperor style of apocalyptic post-rock however KAYO DOT's sophomore album exudes a much more interesting turn of events with violin solos unleashing haunting melodies over a dark atmospheric backdrop of guitars, viola, trumpets and keyboards. The drums and the bass provide the rhythmic drive as with most rock bands but the tempos and time signatures ratchet up often with zigzagging riffs, sudden start / stop syncopation and jittery uncertain gloomy mood enhancing timbres that climax in explosive outbursts of dissonant power chords unleashing their fury in metal bombast. Out of the five lengthy tracks, the shortest running time of "Aura On An Asylum Wall" still hovers near the eight minute mark while the soul crushing bombast of "?On Limpid Form" soars to a majestic eighteen minute run. This is an album to savor slowly as it requires full active participation in its ever-changing stylistic sequences.

DOWSING ANEMONE is quite a different beast than "Choirs" as each track is independent of the other and has a distinct personality trait. While the opening "Gemini Becomingt The Tripod" delivers a distinct metal bombast as heard on "Choirs," the following tracks focus much more on the chamber rock, jazz and 20th century avant-garde attributes of avant-garde classical musical scores. The metal bombast returns on the lengthy "?On Limpid Form" which strangely builds up a textural whirlwind of jazzy melodies with indie rock sensibilities until it creates a monstrous roar of heavy metal thunder that carries it far and wide. The time signatures on this album are off the chart as each track employs a wide range of off-kilter compositional counterpoints with a tapestry of instrumental interaction that is phenomenally performed in manners hitherto unheard. This music is startling and dramatic and sounds like it was beamed down from another world.

Personally i have always preferred this second album to the first and anything KAYO DOT has down to the Maudlin of the Well material that preceded. This album simply takes me to places i never knew existed and that is exactly what avant-garde music is supposed to achieve only this isn't experimentation for its own sake but rather an interesting new way of achieving a full compositional experience with everything tweaked in order to create an alienating effect. While i absolutely love the chamber-jazz- metal-art-rock that's on display, i still find the vocals to be quite weak on several occasions. While they are perfect in some contexts, particularly the more aggressive moments, it's during the really slowed down and whiney parts they are awful and this effect is on full display, unfortunately for much of the final track "Amaranth The Peddler" which exercises the weakest aspects of the bands and crafts them into an entire track. Seriously if it weren't for the closer i would rate this much higher and had it been cut off it would still be a 40 plus minute listening experience. As much as i love DOWSING ANEMONE WITH COPPER TONGUE it pales in comparison to the even more dynamic perfection of the following "Blue Lambency Downward" album.

Kayo Dot is a New York based avant-garde rock and experimental metal group which formed in 2003 after several members left Toby Driver's previous project, Maudlin of the Well. Kayo Dot has been subject to several line-up changes, although the only constant member is Toby Driver on bass, lead vocals, guitar, clarinet and keyboards. 'Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue', combines a more avant and less metal overall sound, and features over an hour of guitar based compositions with less frontal vocals and a higher emphasis on atmospheric textures and avant-garde playing. This is my first exposure to Kayo Dot's music. Here are my impressions of compositions presented on this record:

1. Gemini Becoming the Tripod (10:43). Quiet start followed by instrumental outbreak (with imitaton of a buildup) and then we get an atmospheric section (which is established with help of violin and intricate percussion) with eerie vocals. The screaming approach is unsettling (sometimes a bit annoying), the composition is very angular, even abrasive, awkward at some points, which is not an unusual thing for this subgenre of prog. (6,5/10)

2. Immortelle and Paper Caravelle (9:42). As the first track, this starts quietly. The tempo is slow, moody(almost melodic) moments are present. The vocals are delicate (perhaps too delicate for my taste). There is a very prominent minimalistic nature in this composition. (6/10)

3. Aura on an Asylum Wall (7:44). Starts with a spooky pattern and spoken words with some instrumental modifications here and there. Next up we get prominent trumpet and violin melodies on top with guitar and bass accompaniment with quite diverse percussion. Distorted bass from 7th minute till the end. This seems like the most consistent composition on the album. (8/10)

4. ___ On Limpid Form (18:00). This epic begins with almost random guitar strumming followed by vocals with some choir addition. Nice guitar-violin interplay near 3 minute mark, trumpet is a good touch. What comes next is a section of disconnected chords of distorted guitar and drums, containing pauses of silence. It continues till the end of this composition. There's not a lot (interesting) happening here compositionally. I have to say that this track might not be the choice for an active listening, because it isn't very good in holding your attention throughout all of it's length, so it may seem dull and uninspiring. (6/10)

5. Amaranth the Peddler (14:07). Again, it starts in a very minimalistic manner. No hints of melodies just sheer dissonance. Toby's vocals vere present for 2 minutes. The signs of buildup could be heard when guitars and double bass gradually come in, with different noises made by horns, violin. Ambiance and anticlimactic ending to this album are achieved, I guess. (6/10)

'Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue' is definitely not an easy listen. At one point the music requires all of your attention, on the other hand some of it resembles background noise. The inventive factor is present, there were no hints of replication (at least I didn't hear any), so this album is worth listening. I just wished it had a bigger amount of structure in these compositions.