U TOTEM

One of avant-prog's second wave supergroups, U TOTEM existed for a five year period from 1989-1994 and released only two albums but made prog history for its uncompromising ability to navigate centuries worth of musical styles in their short stint together. Primarily the merging of members from the L.A. based band 5uu's and the San Francisco based Motor Totemist Guild, the band featured Dave Kerman (drums, percussion) and Sanjay Kumar (keyboards, piano, sitar) of the former and James Grigsby (guitars, bass) and Emily Hay (flute, piccolo, vocals) of the latter. The band also had connections with Thinking Plague which Kerman joined the same year U TOTEM was born. Also on board was Eric Johnson (bassoon, soprano sax) and Steve Cade (guitar). Numerous guests appeared providing a number of extra instrumentation and vocals.

U TOTEM was very much influenced by the most daring Rock In Opposition / avant-prog acts that preceded such as Henry Cow, Art Bears, Cassiber as well as the American avant-proggers such as Thinking Plague and of course the bands which spawned U TOTEM in the first place. One of the artier examples of avant-prog, this self-titled debut emerged in 1990 and was in many ways one of the early examples of the prog revival that was coming out of the shadows and joining the world of neo-prog that had kept the genre alive in the 80s in terms of popularity. To call this album ambitious would truly be understatement. U TOTEM's debut was as much modern classical music as anything in the avant-rock universe. The flutes and bassoon offer a Medieval feel while the heady angular workouts point to the chamber rock bands and avant-proggers generated from the Henry Cow family.

The album opens and closes with two near 15-minute monstrosities with five tracks of varying time lengths in between. At a running time of over 62 minutes plus, U TOTEM's debut is a lot to take in and virtually impossible to wrap one's head around with a single exposure. This is one of those albums i can put away for a while and then completely forget what it sounds like. It's the gift that keeps on giving! The opening "One Nail Draws Another" doesn't waste any time getting into the complex chamber rock business of crafting super knotty piano workouts with intricate classical instrumentation and crazy wind instruments having evil conversations. Three vocalists periodically interrupt the instrumental headiness and offer operatic deliveries in three languages in a sort of Renaissance polyphony. Most of this track is excellent but there are some awkward moments as if you suddenly were dropped into a German opera.

Tracks like "Two Looks At One End" and "Both Your Houses" point directly to the Art Bears for influence only ramped up to incorporate angular knottiness on steroids. Excellent use of polyphonic phrasing and exaggerated use of silence takes the U TOTEM experience into extraordinarily delicious avant-prog ecstasy. "Yellow Umbrella Gallery" is actually the weirdest track on board with various spoken word dialogue juxtaposed with completely free form abstract instrumentation and sound samples. All in all it sounds like a very strange LSD trip and would've fit perfectly on some psych album from the late 1960s. "The Judas Goat" is by far the most rock oriented with a heavy driving guitar presence, bantering bass and frenetic sax squawks and bassoonery. Like most tracks, it shape shifts and drifts in many directions. The closing "Vagabond's Home" is another lengthy beast at near 15 minutes and pure avant-prog all the way. An endless supply of time signatures, contrapuntal absurdities and instrumental tapestry effects make this one a keeper.

U TOTEM did an admirable job at mixing the avant-weirdness of classic Henry Cow with the vocals reminiscent of the Art Bears. Add some Univers Zero and Present styled chamber rock, a bit of zolo post-punk influences from the two parent bands of 5uu's and Motor Totemist Guild and you're in for a real avant-treat that only a true super group could achieve. While many deem this one an unbridled masterpiece, i personally have some issues with it. First of all the vocalists don't really do it for me. They are too "normal" for this kind of strange concoction of sounds. Predictable operatic vocals that don't generate an equal degree of mondo bizarro seem to fall flat however for the most part the excellent instrumental parts are beyond top notch. Perhaps another gripe is that the band tried too hard to throw too much into the cauldron and therefore certain aspects remain unresolved but despite this album not being perfect in my world, i can still listen to this one in utter awe for all the details that went into its creation. Any way you slice it, an excellent slice of avant-prog.