DOWSING ANEMONE WITH COPPER TONGUE

Not evryone will like this album, its just too origianal. Kayo Dot blends elements of Post-Rock, Jazz, Metal, Modern Art Music, and Avant without even breaking a sweat. I personally love the blending of style however Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tounge is a far from perfect disc, often trailing off into silence or near silence many will find this aggrivating, but as an avid Post-Rocker I understand its purpose and can appretiate it.

The mood is dark often causing me to actually sweat (strange I know) the songs all sound creepy, like a bad trip or fevered dreams. The musisianship is superb, able to play highly composed insanity as well as improvise. The band uses plenty of odd instruments for the Avant fans including Violin Viola and Trumpet among others. My main complaint is that even though the songs are good they dont fit together and the album loses momentum and falls apart at the end.

Gemini becoming the Tripod: great opening line, reminds me of lots of Jazz, especially Sun Ra. The interesting thing is that the band uses a creshendo/build up style but does it in a way that is unlike Post-Rock in almost every way, and also is more complex. You can tell that this song is highly composed.

Immortelle and Paper Caravelle: Takes a long time to get moving and is not as brilliant as Gemini... is but still holds its own. The sound of the song is verry ambient and long winded, getting into TD territory at times. When the song gets going you notice a verry Jazzy theme and get a good dose of old fasioned Jazz crooning vocal delivery, somthing not many bands use. The song ends in another ambient trance, with hints of Classical and Post-Rock throughout.

Aura On an Asylem Wall: It seems to take its sound from Chamber Rock but the Jazz feel remains prominent with a brilliant trumpet solo whose phrazing would be loved by even the snootyest jazz critic. The middle of the song has some great melody, probably the most melody anywhere on the whole thing. This is probably the best song on the disc, using most all of the elements that make this CD great, even featuring some old fasioned Grindcore at the end.

___ On Limpid Form: Slow and beutifull with great singing. Reminds me of old movie love scenes, and actually isn't scary at all, wich is odd. However as soon as the guitar solo kicks in (amazing solo by the way) the mood starts to change into a more dissonant piece, and its not long before it changes into a heavy durdge, sounds like Neurosis with the drive turned off. This part of the song is verry demented and not nearly as well done as the rest of the songs, luckily it saves its self by turning into a great Post-Metal build up with great precussion. Would have been a skippable song but the beggining tune saved it.

Amaranth the Peddler:Starts with three minutes of verry little before going into the actual song, the song is verry trancelike with stoned singing. The song is the druggyest and the least demanding listen. Got to give props to the lyrics though, I have no idea what any of it means, but it creates a picture. the song (and the album) ends on a bit of a weak note, good but not a good ending, it just goes on too long and never gets anywhere.

Overall a good album, with some flaws in the last two songs, but their was more room for error as their was no blueprint for this type of music to build off of, making it forgivable. However not a masterpiece because the album simply does not come together, it just is not as good when viewed as a complete work -- 4 stars