THE SHEEP THAT EATS THE WOLF

1. "Skeletons" (7:07) another song that feels as if it was created by a pianist with the stage or theater in mind but then becomes expanded upon by placing it in the hands of a band of creative and skilled musicians. How the band keeps coming up with these unique and unusual songs is beyond me but I am so glad that they have! The team of dual- vocalists of founding member Anastasya Korol and recent joinder Latifah Smith is working so well! It's as if KOTEBEL's former chanteuse, Carolina Prieto, and the wonderful lead vocalist from Jeremey Poparad's incredible one off band, AXON-NEURON, Amanda Rankin had teamed up to do some Zeulish avant-garde THE LOOMINGS/OIAPOK work. Brilliant! Brilliant and incredible enjoyable song! (14.5/15) 2. "The Sheep That Eats the Wolf" (4:40) another infectious dual-vocal-fronted song. Are Latifah and Anastasya really opera-cabaret musicians? I can't help but believe that they must have a great deal of input in the construction of Fistfights With Wolves' music. INNER EAR BRIGADE's albums, with their use of female vocal talents of Melody Ferris and, now, recently, Madeline Tasquin, also come to mind with happy, quirky vocal-led music like this. (9.5/10)

The series of 12 "Noodles" collected as "Religious Music for Pastafarians" (songs #3 through #14) reminds me of a flowing collection of études that could have been perpetrated and collected by recent bands like THINKING PLAGUE, KOENJIHYAKKEI, MAGMA, YUGEN, THE LOOMINGS, and even UNEXPECT. While these wordless are interesting and incredibly entertaining (and, of course, impressive), they feel more like a collection of flashes of mathematically- imagined creativity rendered manifest for reasons of proof, never really intended for public entertainment. Still, they are, collectively, a testament to some brilliantly creative artists--and definitely still qualify for inclusion under the progressive rock umbrella--perhaps more as evidence of a classically-inspired avant-garde/RIO display. I have decided to review and rate them as one single collective--like an eight-minute suite. (14.5/15)

3. "RMFP - N1 (1:31) 4. "RMFP - N2 (0:42) 5. "RMFP - N3 (0:53) 6. "RMFP - N4 (0:44) 7. "RMFP - N5 (0:32) 8. "RMFP - N6 (0:34) 9. "RMFP - N7 (0:32) 10. "RMFP - N8 (0:30) 11. "RMFP - N9 (0:38) 12. "RMFP - N10 (0:12) 13. "RMFP - N11 (0:35) 14. "RMFP - N12 (0:43)

15. "Rondo" (4:53) a delightful song that combines the vocal acrobatics and harmonic genius of the 12 Noodles with the more "song"-like formats of the album's first two pieces, this one does bring us back to Earth a little. (9.25/10)

16. "Five" (3:30) this song plays out fully as if a piece developed (and, here, recorded) in a sound stage with choir risers and practice piano pounding out the accompaniment to the vocalists. (Are there, in fact, more than just the two singers here? It certainly sounds much fuller, more choir-like, than any of the previous works. Could Anastasya and Latifah have multi-tracked all of the parts?) (8.75/10)

Total Time 28:16

While my issues with the band's sound engineering choices continue--the delicate war between acoustic authenticity and sonic cohesiveness--I find that either I'm just getting used to it and, therefore, accepting it in passive submission, or I'm just being won over by the absolute brilliance of the ideas and execution of this music. Probably a combination of the two.

A/five stars; a certifiable masterpiece of amazingly well-rendered supremely-creative music that, while being by far my favorite album by this band so far, once again runs quite short of being an acceptable length for qualification as a whole "album" (it's more of an EP), but then again, the music here is of such high quality and soul-filling nutrients that it might just be the perfect length for its type. HIGHLY recommended!

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