THE SHEEP THAT EATS THE WOLF

Fistfights With Wolves is a band from the US that was unknown to me until a month ago, when I say their name headlining a zeuhl festival in Mexico which is taking place in August 17, so I really got curious and wanted to explore at least their most recent release.

And now I am here, writing a bit about it because I had a great experience while listening to it, and my enthusiasm for their live performance (which I am sure will be great) increased. What they offer here in "The Sheep That Eats The Wolf" is a 28-minute album divided in 16 tracks, but there is actually one mini-epic divided in 12 parts, which would be the body of the album. The line-up brings 8 musicians including a violin player and two female vocalists who are crucial for the music's charm, all led by composer and keyboard player Matthew Rakers.

It starts with "Skeletons" which is the longest track (if we don't count the 12-part suite, of course) and I think their best cover letter. There is an evident mixture of influences that help them produce their sound, because we can find a jazzy piano, zeuhl-esque vocals, RIO / avant-garde strings, and though the sound is gentle and not that explosive, the names of bands such Magma, Art Bears or thay great collaboration entitled Kew Rhone clearly came to my mind. I am sorry if I recall the importance of both female voices (Anastasya Korol and Latifah Smith), but their work is great, mesmerizing in moments, delicate in others, but the tones and colors they reach and share are wonderful. The last part of this track is great, where violin and guitar make a dialogue while vocals, drums, bass and piano create the background.

"The Sheep That Eats The Wolf" has a sweet beginning where all play at unison, then vocals join and the intensity increases little by little. The reference of the bands I mentioned above return here, but in this track there are more explosive moments that remind me of that zeuhl's craziness. Piano never ceases to create a diversity of textures, which is also crucial for this band's essence. I think it is easy to get enchantes by the vocal game, I bet there will be moments you would like to sing with them. What I like about them is that the music is so easy to dig in spite of being clearly influenced by zeuhl and RIO acts.

Now the mini-epic "Religious Music for Pastafarians" whose 12 parts (or Noodles) make a total time of only 8 minutes. As you can imagine, it is a diyzzying journey with constant mini changes that sum-up what this band's sound is about. The introduction is strong here, and it is actually the only Noodle that lasts over a minute, all the others are short and one quiiiiite short (12 seconds haha). Though the music itself could work as a hook, I think the vocal game is, once again, what boosts the success of FFWW's sound. There are no lyrics in this exercise, which is not bad at all; the understanding between the members is also evident, an applause to that; but when the Noodles change, there are actual stops to the sound, moments of silence that in moments lack of cohesion, to my ears. I am not sure if these brief parts were improvised and then got together, but what I am sure is they had fun while recording them. My favorite was Noodle 9.

"Rondo" sounds like the natural succesor of the mini-epic, with the difference that here there are no stops so it is easier to get involved and addicted to it. The keyboard notes are also hypnotizing; and just before reaching the second minute, an interesting change arrives, with lyrics included and a colorful jazz/rock textures. The album finishes with "Five" which has a kind of cabaret feeling on it. The sound is gentle and easy to dig, however, the musicianship is also evident, which is a nice combo.

I am happy with this release and happier because I will see them on stage, I am very curious about it. This is a very nice album, I love the clarity of their influences and how they are trying to create an own sound; regarding the mini- epic, I have bitter-sweet emotions, but in the end I am satisfied with this new discovery for my musical library.

1. "Skeletons" (7:07) another song that feels as if it was created by a pianist with the stage or theater in mind but then becomes expanded upon by placing it in the hands of a band of creative and skilled musicians. How the band keeps coming up with these unique and unusual songs is beyond me but I am so glad that they have! The team of dual- vocalists of founding member Anastasya Korol and recent joinder Latifah Smith is working so well! It's as if KOTEBEL's former chanteuse, Carolina Prieto, and the wonderful lead vocalist from Jeremey Poparad's incredible one off band, AXON-NEURON, Amanda Rankin had teamed up to do some Zeulish avant-garde THE LOOMINGS/OIAPOK work. Brilliant! Brilliant and incredible enjoyable song! (14.5/15) 2. "The Sheep That Eats the Wolf" (4:40) another infectious dual-vocal-fronted song. Are Latifah and Anastasya really opera-cabaret musicians? I can't help but believe that they must have a great deal of input in the construction of Fistfights With Wolves' music. INNER EAR BRIGADE's albums, with their use of female vocal talents of Melody Ferris and, now, recently, Madeline Tasquin, also come to mind with happy, quirky vocal-led music like this. (9.5/10)

The series of 12 "Noodles" collected as "Religious Music for Pastafarians" (songs #3 through #14) reminds me of a flowing collection of études that could have been perpetrated and collected by recent bands like THINKING PLAGUE, KOENJIHYAKKEI, MAGMA, YUGEN, THE LOOMINGS, and even UNEXPECT. While these wordless are interesting and incredibly entertaining (and, of course, impressive), they feel more like a collection of flashes of mathematically- imagined creativity rendered manifest for reasons of proof, never really intended for public entertainment. Still, they are, collectively, a testament to some brilliantly creative artists--and definitely still qualify for inclusion under the progressive rock umbrella--perhaps more as evidence of a classically-inspired avant-garde/RIO display. I have decided to review and rate them as one single collective--like an eight-minute suite. (14.5/15)

3. "RMFP - N1 (1:31) 4. "RMFP - N2 (0:42) 5. "RMFP - N3 (0:53) 6. "RMFP - N4 (0:44) 7. "RMFP - N5 (0:32) 8. "RMFP - N6 (0:34) 9. "RMFP - N7 (0:32) 10. "RMFP - N8 (0:30) 11. "RMFP - N9 (0:38) 12. "RMFP - N10 (0:12) 13. "RMFP - N11 (0:35) 14. "RMFP - N12 (0:43)

15. "Rondo" (4:53) a delightful song that combines the vocal acrobatics and harmonic genius of the 12 Noodles with the more "song"-like formats of the album's first two pieces, this one does bring us back to Earth a little. (9.25/10)

16. "Five" (3:30) this song plays out fully as if a piece developed (and, here, recorded) in a sound stage with choir risers and practice piano pounding out the accompaniment to the vocalists. (Are there, in fact, more than just the two singers here? It certainly sounds much fuller, more choir-like, than any of the previous works. Could Anastasya and Latifah have multi-tracked all of the parts?) (8.75/10)

Total Time 28:16

While my issues with the band's sound engineering choices continue--the delicate war between acoustic authenticity and sonic cohesiveness--I find that either I'm just getting used to it and, therefore, accepting it in passive submission, or I'm just being won over by the absolute brilliance of the ideas and execution of this music. Probably a combination of the two.

A/five stars; a certifiable masterpiece of amazingly well-rendered supremely-creative music that, while being by far my favorite album by this band so far, once again runs quite short of being an acceptable length for qualification as a whole "album" (it's more of an EP), but then again, the music here is of such high quality and soul-filling nutrients that it might just be the perfect length for its type. HIGHLY recommended!