HUNGER'S TEETH

This album was my first experience with 5uu's, the band led by David Kerman. "Hunger's Teeth" was an absolute pleasure - I was literally blown away by this energetic combination of Univers Zero, Zappa's most bizarre facet and Art Bears' colorfulness, stating an uncompromisingly experimental approach to rock that preserves its punch through the complex dynamics instilled in each track. The album kicks off with 'Well. Not Chickenshit', a vital, complex manifesto of the kind of musical journey one has to expect from 5uu's. The humanly impossible chord progressions bear an aura of rebellion akin to the ideology of Cutler, Frith & co. 'Roan' brings a martial atmosphere set in a surreal ambience of spectral moods, reminding me of Krause-era Henry Cow with a taste of Art Bears. And what do we find in 'Mangate', 'Geronimo' and 'Glue'? Consecutively: lousy radio wave transmissions a-la Faust; exotic cadences recycled through a meticulous deconstruction of weird colors and textures; yet another tribute to the defiantly playful spirit of Art Bears. This peculiar trilogy pretty much incarnates the unorthodox approach of 5uu's. 'Opportunity Bangs' continues exploring the Henry Cow/Art Bears heritage, with an extra touch of Dadaistic humor that resonates from the Cartoon days (therefore, an indirect reference to Zappa at his most theatrical). Those tortured lead guitar's phrases that combine Fripp's neurosis and Frith's mystery bear an inscrutable intensity. 'The Shears' is a brief twisted chorale inspired in Broadway musicals, turning it into a weapon of parody against the social system and the moral values of America's bourgeoisie. The humorous parsimony in this track is very much in-your-face, serving as an extravagant preparation for 'Bachelor Needle', which is less weird but equally dissonant. 'Truth, Justice and the American Way' resumes the sense of in-your-face parody, this time aiming at the standardized patriotic chants: the impostated cheesiness is so obvious that it becomes another form of avant-garde experimentation. 'Equus' brings back the usual business of 5uu's, disturbing and dense although elaborated in a mood that happens to be more ethereal than usual - the delicate treatment of the predominant eerie layers is so well crafted that it doesn't kill the main motif's nuclear darkness. 'Traveler Waits for No One' once again retakes the straightforward, harsh colorfulness of Art Bears and the Dadaistic intensity of Cartoon, capturing them in a unique sonic frame. This playful mood is apt to close up the album with a defying enthusiasm - "Hunger's Teeth" is a revitalizing item of the current experimental prog that claims the heritage of chamber-rock and RIO.