DOWSING ANEMONE WITH COPPER TONGUE

I held the holy tripod and all the nothing held its breath Gemini solemnly split themselves The world closed its eyes Supreme love in the opposite The world hid in the clouds...

dowsing anemone with copper tongue is a singularly unique experience at once beautiful and terrifying. the closest album i can think of to compare this with is Can's Tago Mago but the two sound nothing alike so take that as you will. This album, or this band rather, is post rock in the way post rock abandons straightforward structures in favor of textures and atmosphere. but dont come here thinking this is another godspeed clone. you might just have an aneurysm. this is avant chamber calssical jazz metal. wait whats that? dont ask me im just throwing out words, those are the ones that stick but they dont really define the sound. You really have to hear this for yourself to make a fair judgment, if im to be as cliche as possible.

The album starts off fairly immediate with Gemini Becoming the Tripod, to which the lyrics above belong. The mysterious and echoey intro builds quickly to a loud (and i mean loud) climax of violins and guitars and shouts and a swirling texture which fades quickly to a single note. This is the most dynamic single not i have ever heard. Kayo dot takes this single violin note and stretches it, slowly... exploring every possible facet of its character building up an unbelievable tension untill 6 minutes later it just cannot take it; the note releases this pent up tension/energy and is torn to shreds and kayo dots trademark avant metal is unleashed. Genius. wait it gets better? oh yes. hold on to your pants.

The following songs float in and out - like the beautiful, wispy Immortelle and Paper Caravelle - only to come thundering in with the ominous and driving Aura On An Asylum Wall which picks up pace and provides more than enough structure for any of the haters to find something to love cough**T**cough. relatively straightforward. One of the best crescendo's this band has accomplished. jazz jam leads to a series of arpeggios from the guitar that lead back into another explosive and chaotic avant metal charge, a headlong rush lead by a massive bass.

Are you still holding on to your pants? well you can let go now because they are going to be blown off by the next 30 or so minutes of music regardless of how tight of a grip you've got.

__ On Limpid Form

Take the noisiest sections from The Antique (a song which no doubt anticipates this entire album) and amplify them. then crank the amps up to 11. Now add washes of feedback and frantic percussion. Now imagine playing this in hell. you are beginning to get the idea. thats not to say that this is scary or 'hellish' sounding. just... intense. raw. this track is thunderous. and i love it.

Amaranth The Peddler The photo negative of __ On Limpid Form and the effect it achieves is as such very different from it. Beautiful and unsettling. It keeps floating formlessly on after a wonderful and deceptively structured beginning that lasts till the halfway mark. If __On Limpid Form was the sound of your brain dissolving into flames, this is the sound of the aftermath, of the blackened ashes wafting away. perfect.

I cant give this album any less than 5 stars. Choirs of the eye might be my favorite from Kayo dot (from music for that matter) but its grimy little monster of a cousin is the genius.