SIRENS AND SILENCES / WORK RESUMED ON THE TOWER

After Slapp Happy and Henry Cow dissipated, and after the refugees' first safe harbour in Art Bears had run its course, Dagmar Krause, Chris Cutler, and Lindsay Cooper brought in glorious harpist Zeena Parkins to craft News From Babel. Although the material here is challenging, I find it a pleasant blend of the approach of latter-day Henry Cow and Slapp Happy - you have the Cow's incessant need to experiment counterbalanced by Slapp Happy's uncanny ability to make even the strangest compositions immediately welcoming and accessible. The end result is a RIO album which isn't weird for weird's sake, but instead is one of the hidden unsung gems of the subgenre; the interplay of Cooper's reed instruments and Parkins' harp is a particular treat.