Ethel Violinist Todd Reynolds' Flavorful Solo Double Album Just Out on Innova
Violinist Todd Reynolds is a founding member of Ethel, possibly the world's most unpredictable string quartet. His expansive new solo album Outerborough, a double-disc set released on Innova, is virtually all solo violin, produced to the nth degree with dizzying layers of effects. A lot of this is psychedelic. There are occasional dark or even harrowing passages, but most of this is fun – disabuse yourself of any preconception that the avant garde is necessarily stuffy or pretentious. The first of the two discs here, the "inside," comprises Reynolds originals performed via the Lemur GuitarBot, an effects processor that ably facilitates Reynolds' one-man orchestra. Its high point, in fact the high point of the album, is the hauntingly otherworldly, cinematic title track with its series of tritone motifs, eventually warming up over a hi-tech bounce which the violin eventually hangs out to dry all by itself as the piece concludes. The sad, brooding, aptly titled End of Day is also absolutely gorgeous.
The rest of the originals are more lively. The opening cut, essentially a trip-hop tune, is an adventure theme with David Gilmour-esque angst balanced against a playful dance. The Indian-flavored second cut sets a jaunty pizzicato melody against a drone, shifting to a Dexys Midnight Runners type tune that builds to an interestingly exploratory crescendo, and then shifts back again. There are also a handful of hypnotic, loop-based compositions, a couple with austere sostenuto lines overhead, another featuring some woozy Dr. Dre tonalities.
The "outside" disc represents an A-list of avant-garde composers. Phil Kline's A Needle Pulling Fred, another trip-hop number, contrasts majestically sailing melody with motorik rhythms. Michael Gordon's Tree-Oh sets an echoey fugue to a staggered dance beat; Paul de Jong's Inward Bound (with the composer on cello) is sort of Kraftwerk-meets-the-avant. A mash-up with an uncredited recording of the blues classic Crossroads, Michael Lowenstern's composition serves as a launching pad for Reynolds' gritty blues playing, evocative of Karen Waltuch's work with the Roulette Sisters. …And the Sky Was Still There, by David T. Little illustrates Army veteran Amber Ferenz's chilling narrative of her would-be transformation into a killing machine – until she had an epiphany, which is where the music picks up. The strongest of the compositions on the second disc is Ken Thomson's Storm Drain, with its plaintive Middle Eastern allusions and ominous bass clarinet courtesy of the composer himself. There's also a blippily hypnotic piece by Nick Zammuto and a cinematically crescendoing one from Paula Matthusen. Many flavors and a characteristically eclectic, genre-busting blend of styles, which is just what you'd expect from a member of Ethel (Reynolds has since left the group).
April 2, 2011 Posted by delarue | avant garde music, Music, music, concert, review, Reviews	| album review, amber ferenz, ambient music, atmospheric music, avant-garde music, chamber music, david t. little, electroacoustic, electronic music, ethel quartet, innova records, instrumental music, karen waltuch, ken thomson, lemur guitarbot, michael gordon composer, michael lowenstern, Music, music review, new music, nick zammuto, paul de jong, paula matthusen, Phil Kline, roulette sisters, Todd Reynolds, todd reynolds outerborough, todd reynolds outerborough review, todd reynolds review, todd reynolds violin, violin music | Leave a comment