Don Caballero
What Burns Never Returns
Touch & Go
1998
Waxtree Records, Orlando, FL

     Don Caballero is not a progressive rock band in the common sense of the word. There are no Moog solos, Roger Dean album covers or concept albums anywhere in their catalog. Yet with each album Don Caballero seem to be veering closer to truly progressive music -- music which steers completely clear of the retro tendencies and clichés so prevalent in new "progressive rock." Music which simply expands the previous boundaries of rock music. In that sense, Don Caballero is a progressive rock band.
     This Pittsburgh band's long overdue third album takes their unique brand of ultra-complicated guitar-based indie rock to levels that even the most discriminating prog fan should enjoy. The most notable progressive rock connection may be found in elements of King Crimson's influence in the dissonant guitar chords, choppy rhythms and odd meters, and in the interlocking, almost pointilistic dual guitar melodies.
     This album finds Don Caballero well on their way in evolving from an all-instrumental band who barely tried to hide their affinity for heavy metal riffs on their debut album, For Respect to an almost avant-garde guitar ensemble several years later. Most of the metal riffs are gone and we are now left with some very challenging instrumental music which nearly defies description. Now, riffs, melodies and sometimes nothing more than abrasive guitar noise arise, transform and drop out of sight without warning. This is not instrumental Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins. Nor is this prog metal shredding wankery. There are no solos and there is no posing. This is four guys stretching the boundaries of guitar rock to unusually left-field territory. If anyone in the band does shred, however, it's drummer Damon Che. He plays with a relentless fury and energy which would leave most drummers breathless after 20 minutes. If Don Caballero has a star player, it's him, and his drumming alone is worth the price of admission.
     Most of the oddly titled instrumental tracks on this album are in the five-minute range, but a couple approach 10 minutes and allow quite a bit of room for music ideas to develop fully.
     My favorite track on this album is "In the Absence of Strong Evidence to the Contrary, One May Step Out of the Way of the Charging Bull." Both guitarists play almost all of this piece by finger tapping chords and notes in a manner not unlike a stick player would. I saw these guys in concert recently and was amazed when I saw them do this. I found it hard to distinguish one part from another and wondered how guitarists Mike Banfield and Ian Williams managed to stay in time with each other while playing such an intricate swirl of rhythmic parts. This is something the band ought to explore further.
     The one complaint about this band that I have heard before and must confess myself, is that they do tend to be a little repetitive at times. Themes and melodies appear only once per track as a rule, but sometimes these themes can go on a little too long before the band drops them and moves on. This is only a minor distraction, however.
     While I do not like this album as much as their fantastic second album, Don Caballero 2, I do think it is this album which could ultimately be responsible for turning the heads of progressive and avant-garde music enthusiasts in Don Caballero's direction.

Where Echoes End
By the Pricking of My Thumb
Beaks Ahoy
1997
promo from band

     Like musical prophets of gloom and doom come the Australian duo Where Echoes End. This 70-minute concept album of mostly keyboard and electronic music is absolutely drenched in visions of chaos and claims that human existence is a hopeless saga of "inscidiousness" with "no vestige of a beginning and no prospect of an end." Everything from war, greed, racism, terrorism, abortion, the rift between science and religion, and every other debate, controversy and tragedy in history seems to be represented somewhere in the liner notes and the relentless barrage of spoken-word samples from movies and television news broadcasts.
     Maybe I don't get it. And maybe I just don't read the same books these guys do. Either way, whichever stance or belief one may take on any of these subjects, this CD seems so centered on and obsessed with all the bad elements of human nature and history, it makes it very difficult to listen to the music and appreciate it. In fact, the music is almost constantly drowned out by the samples the band chose to narrate their disturbingly dark, pessimistic vision of history. This is too bad for at least the reason that some of the music is pretty good. There are some beautiful moments of piano and cello (digital synth?) obliterated by one of Adolph Hitler's speeches. Except for the few moments of music which have a slight techno/industrial edge to them, the music is very much in line with that of "darkambient" groups like the Projekt label's Black Tape for a Blue Girl and other similar bands... ambient, beautiful and extremely depressing. Of course, if I believed all the things these guys apparently do, I would be writing music as depressing as this too. Thank God I don't.
Sadly, By the Pricking of My Thumb offers no answers or any sign of hope to the listener as to how to change our situation. This album only invites us to wallow in misery and fear. Thanks, but no thanks.

By the Pricking of My Thumb is available for an International Money Order of $16 U.S. from
Where Ecoes End
20 Becket Ave. East
Bentleigh, 3165 VIC.
Austrailia

For more information visit their website. or e-mail them at echoes@labyrinth.net.au

Steve Chochrane
The Purest of Designs
Spirit Compass Music
1998
promo from the artist

     The contrast between the philosophies espoused on the album previously reviewed and the philosophies behind Steve Cochrane's The Purest of Designs is striking. On this album, multi-instrumentalist Cochrane revels in such Ayn Rand-goes-new age hogwash utterances such as "I am the god of my own existence" with such syrupy sweetness that it once again, makes it hard to swallow the music on this CD. Song titles like "To the Glory of Man" and "Dreams of Reason" should be clues as to what kind of philosophical concepts the listener has to endure on this album.
     Enough about philosophy, though. What we're mostly concerned with here is music. Once again, this album is mostly a disappointment. Cochrane calls this album a "progressive rock adventure" but it is not all that progressive, nor does it rock! The best part of this CD is the instrumental opener. It features lots of melodic guitar soloing over a backdrop of numerous shiny keyboard parts. This the sort of stuff that might appeal to Marillion or Pendragon fans, but to me it sounds too much like background music for a Buick television advertisement. It has a slick commercial feel that just turns me off.
     Two tracks later, we're treated to a 27-minute prog epic called "Songs for Spring." It begins with some more guitar soloing and keyboard melodies. Cochrane is no slouch on the guitar, sometimes recalling Alex Lifeson or even a little bit of Robert Fripp. He should stick to guitar though, because his allegorical lyrics about how spring and "the flower" and how "he is a symbol of your love" come off a lot like your typical Adam Sandler musical skit on Saturday Night Live. They're sung with all the naive sincerity of "Lunch Lady Land."
     Musically, this album has some good moments, but overall, it lacks much in the way of musical risk-taking or unpredictability. Like so much other new "progressive" rock, this is awfully polite and polished sounding music.
     Fans of neo-prog or the recent works of Jon Anderson or Mike Oldfield might find nicer things to say about this album. I'll leave that job to them.

Get Steve Cochrane's CDs from:

Creative Musician's Coalition
1024 W. Willcox Ave.
Peoria, IL 61604, USA

Toll-free order line in USA & Canada: 1-800-882-4262
For more information visit CMC's Website or e-mail them at aimcmc@pan.com

Also, visit Steve Cochrane's Site or e-mail him at spiritcompass@globalserve.net

Anekdoten
Live EP
Arcangelo
1997
Wayside Music

     It's been nearly two years since I gave Anekdoten's debut album, Vemod, a mildly positive review in Reels of Dreams Unrolled. Since then I've warmed up to the album a bit more, and it is has become one of my absolute favorites. Unfortunately, finances and an ever-growing interest in other progressive rock bands and styles has prohibited me from purchasing Anekdoten's second album, Nucleus and their recent double live CD. I did, however, recently manage to snatch up this relatively cheap four-song Live EP. This limited edition EP was produced exclusively for sale on one of Anekdoten's recent Japanese tours. They did not sell all 5,000 of them, so Wayside music was able to make them available to the rest of us. Lucky us! If you have not bothered to purchase this little gem yet, what are you waiting for? The limited number of these available and the quality of the music and attractive packaging are sure to make this a sought-after collectible in years to come.
     This EP is an amazing display of Anekdoten's live abilities. Most of the tracks on here sound more energetic and exciting than their original versions. "Nucleus" opens the disc on an exceptionally vigorous note which sets the tone for the whole disc. Jan Erik Liljeström's singing seems to have improved since Vemod and his bass has never growled louder. "The Flow" seems to sound better on here as well, again more energetic. The third and longest track, "A Way of Life," is quite a surprise and a real treat. This is an improvisational piece exclusive to this disc. It is beautifully mellow piece of Tangerine Dream-like space rock. It starts very quietly with some softly bowed cello and waht sounds like guitar volume swells. Eventually a bass guitar ostinato joins in and gradually grows in volume and intensity throughout the piece. A beautiful, quavering guitar solo laced with tremolo and reverb becomes the centerpiece of the track. This piece proves that Anekdoten has more to offer than hard-n-heavy Crimsonic noise fests. It's a side of them I'd like to see more often. "Karelia," another instrumental, finishes the CD off. Unfortunately, the band decided to leave off the ultra-somber Mellotron section at the beginning, helping to make this track the only one I think is a little less interesting than the gripping original version.
These recordings are not available anywhere else, so even if you already have Official Bootleg: Live in Japan, you won't be wasting money if you buy this.
     At only 25 minutes in length,Live EP really makes me want to get the Official Bootleg album. It also makes me want to see Anekdoten in concert someday. Maybe someday, but until then, this will satisfy me quite nicely.