5UU'S & DAVE KERMAN: THE QUIET IN YOUR BONES

Kerman thankfully carries on the thread of endlessly intriguing music under the 5uu's moniker. Kerman's approach to arrangement, like his compatriot Bob Drake, draws from a vast kitchen sink overflowing with dirty stuff. So it's hard to give a sense of the overall feel of the album. Because of the repeating power riffs that happen on much of The Quiet in Your Bones, it maybe more approachable/recallable than other 5uu's. The low alto voice of Michelle Fuchs (of Basel-based collective Les Reines Prochaines) is a defining feature. In an avant-garde prog setting, it's impossible to avoid comparisons with Dagmar Krause. But Fuchs' voice is lower and earthier, never quite screeching. The album often has a ragged, homebrew quality. That's not a bad thing necessarily. Avant-prog has maybe gotten a little too genteel in the last 10 or 15 years. This album gets it back to being kind of a nasty bitch.