LARVAL

It's always a risk to start a CD with its best track. After all, there is a very good chance it will overshadow the rest of the music on the CD and thus gradually lose the listeners interest. On the other hand, if a CD can deliver a stunning opener and follow it up with an equally (or at least nearly so) stunning remainder, the effect is tremendous (as I'm sure all of you have found to be the case at least once in your music listening). Larval, brainchild of Bill Brovold, definitely starts Predator or Prey with its strongest track, "One Last Flight". Unfortunately, the rest of the CD, with one exception, really doesn't live up, and Predator or Prey turns out somewhat disappointing because of that, even though it is actually quite a good release.

I suppose it would have been possible to see it coming even from the awesome first track. After all, between the heavy guitar riffs and the saxophone squeals that open and close the song, there is a section that's really quite dead, not doing anything to engage the listener. The rest of the CD has even more moments like that, unfortunately with the added problem that the music around them isn't nearly as exciting as that of "One Last Flight". The next three songs get progressively less interesting (more and more dominated by dead spots), finally culminating in the pointless "The Strange Farm", which never even attempts to get off the ground.

Thankfully, though, Predator or Prey takes a turn for the better at this point, as "The Crippled Dance" is similar to the opening track in terms of intensity and ability to maintain the listener's interest. The quirky, up-tempo "Half a Bubble Off" brings a humorous air to the largely oppressive music around it, and, again, always keeps the listener engaged. It doesn't let up from there, and the final stretch of Predator or Prey captures the better side of Larval, that of the almost metallic riffs with the jazz meets math rock saxophone and violin. "Alpha-Thejone" in particular deserves mention for its relentless pace - not really fast but certainly uncompromising. Because its momentum never slows, it never lapses into the dead spots that characterized some of the other songs on the CD. Unfortunately, there's "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", which, like "The Strange Farm", never really goes anywhere, but thankfully, it's only one song surrounded by four better ones.

Take just the strongest songs on Predator or Prey ("One Last Flight" and the last five minus "Wee Small Hours") and you've got an excellent thirty minute EP that would stand as an excellent avant-garde release that mixes math rock with metal and jazz. Unfortunately, throw in the second through fourth tracks and "Wee Small Hours" and you merely have a good, not great, CD that promises far more than it delivers. I'd definitely suggest listening before buying (it can be heard for free on www.last.fm), as it isn't good enough to warrant a blind purchase. Good, but it shows lots of unfulfilled potential.

This band is in essence an avant-prog band. It has this quirky sound with instruments such as the sax, cello, viola and piano to accompany the standard rock instrumentation and to also give the album a touch of chamber music. The tenor sax is obviously the main instrument here in this album. It gives the album a humor touch to the already cheerful playing of these guys. The back bone of this zany sound is the post-rock part of the band which can be seen in the delicate parts of the album, the (sort of) minimalist approach to their melodies and even the guitar playing, to some extent. There are some notable post-rockish parts in here as well like the song "Predator or Prey" which has quite possibly the funniest and craziest crescendo in all the post-rock world. Other songs such as "The Entity Returns" show a softer side where the band's influences are more dominant. Aside from the quirky and happy way of playing of these guys there's also a sinister atmosphere hidden in the background that sometimes comes out and shows itself like in "The Crippled Dance" thanks to Bill's guitar playing, but those parts soon come to an end and songs like "Half A Bubble Off Level" dominate most of the time.

This is a well rounded album that has many good things going for it, but I feel it lacks something. I'm not quite sure what it is, but there's definitely something missing although it's still perfectly executed. If you're a post-rock fan with a need of something more daring and happy then Larval's Predator or Prey is a great album to check out and for avant-prog fans with a need of a more guitar dominant sound to their music then this is for you as well.

3.5 out of 5