OF THE BODY PRONE

Ahleuchatistas underwent an abrupt change when drummer Sean Dail suddently quit just prior to a tour in 2008. The band put out an urgent request for a replacement and Ryan Oslance became their drummer, having only 4 days to rehearse the fearsomely complex music before a 3 week tour. Whether as a direct result of this altered line up or as a natural development, the first album by the reconfigured trio saw some significant changes.

The most immediate and obvious alteration is apparent on the first piece, 2/3 Consensus on the Un-Finite Possibilities. After 4 albums of extremely tight, mostly through composed pieces that rarely broke the 4 minute barrier, starting their 5th full length release with almost 9 minutes of dark, brooding semi improvisation is a clear signal that things have changed. The album ends on a similar note, with Map's Tattered Edges. On both pieces there is a concentration on creating an atmosphere before the trio lock together into impossibly tight formations and explore mathematical possibilities that would otherwise only occur to chess grand masters. In between there are eight pieces that explore more familiar territory, with the rapid fire stop/start/quick change dynamics that have become the trio's calling card. New boy Ryan Oslance actually swings, though, making the 'punk jazz' tag more apposite, and the sound has also been augmented by the use of a few effects on guitar and bass - there's even a brief sample tucked away in there. While they haven't exactly lightened up, there is a feeling that they now occasionally smile at each other between bouts of the intense concentration required to play music like this.

Ahleuchatistas didn't radically redefine themselves on this outing, so if you're already familiar with their work you'll definitely enjoy it, but they loosened up and expanded their sound without compromising their integrity. Recommended to fans of Captain Beefheart, King Crimson circa Thrakkattak, Ruins and avant prog power trios like Massacre.