NEWBORN SUN

Frank Zappa is supposed to have once said, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture", a statement usually meant to suggest the futility of shackling any creative act in the straightjacket of words.

But I've always considered it the other way around: as an endorsement of unlikely artistic collisions. What's wrong with dancing about architecture anyway? Sounds like a noble pursuit, to this left-footed wallflower. And what would a dance about architecture even look like?

I can't answer that. But I can show you what it might sound like, by introducing an absurdly young but accomplished quartet from San Diego calling themselves CHON.

As of this writing the band hasn't been around very long. But in only a few short years they've managed to attract a devoted cult audience for their modest yet elegant Math Rock algorithms: nimble twin-guitar filigrees arranged with pinpoint dexterity and precision. CHON play fast and they play hard, but at the same time are incredibly light on their collective toes, dancing around each note with an easy grace that belies the intricacy of the musical architecture.

They certainly don't believe in wasting anyone's time, either. Three of the seven titles on the band's debut effort clock in well short of one-minute, with the briefest of these - the colorfully titled "wut the.. (poop)" - barely cracking the ten-second mark. The entire package is less than 14-minutes long, hardly enough to even qualify as an actual EP, but ideal for busy Progheads with finely calibrated attention spans.

In the end this initial recording may not add up to anything more than a quick tease, presented with tentative expectations. Consider it a surprise valentine from a secret admirer you didn't know existed.