THE PUBLIC EXECUTION OF MR. PERSONALITY / QUASI DAY ROOM

I'm glad they named the person they will publicly execute, because if not, I might have done them. Given that I hate hamsters (stupid rodents who exercise in their creaky wheels at night), the fact that this unit compose extremely obtuse ethnic Eastern- European circus-jazz, with unnecessary complex (and constant) time sig changes, these guys actually do absolutely nothing new, but they do it extremely well. But that is simply not enough for this writer as there are dozens of such albums coming out every year, nowadays.

Comprised of two different "albums", this release present a studio and a live disc, it is most likely impossible to play both disc consecutively unless being a circus junkie. And since I am not an accordion fan, HT is not likely to get much sympathy from me. The live and studio sound like a cross of "bal musette" music (something I simply abhor, and one of the most horrendous side of French culture) and more Eastern (Hungarian) Tzigan/gypsy jazz. While I have some respect for the guys from Thinking Plague, this HT music is nothing like their RIO, miles away. HT is not about jazz-rock, not about RIO (although there are some instants of related traces scattered here and there, but best classified in Avant-prog, where we (PA) fit that kind of group, but usually an important percentage of more meaningful ones.

Often sounding like early acoustic UZ (but second-rate, IMHO), with that irritating accordion (162), and sometimes without (Lost Book), the studio disc is more inspired than the horrendously dull and repetitititititititve live disc. The live disc's highlight is the wild Lake Lausane, but overall, while exemplarily executed, this type of music played live over two hours can only overdose you. And those Hamsters have irritated after a half-hour of it.

This type of album is not likely to increase Cuneiform's fortunes if you ask me, unless there are many fans for awkward, goofy, grotesque, obtuse and humourless music. Best avoided, but I think I am in a minority on this one.