FISTFIGHTS WITH WOLVES / EX INTERROBANG

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!

1. "Bone Script" (9:11) bursting out with a theatric confidence that reminds me even more of superlative Philadelphia band, iNFiNiEN because of its sophisticated jazz-tinged constructs, but even more so due to their now female- dominated vocal corps. Also, the prominent sax feels new but fitting. (18/20)

2. "Glyphs "(7:15) one of the band's quirky staccato stop-and-start rondos over which the vocalists sing ever-so- smoothly. I'm reminded here of both Bay Area Canterbury jazzists, INNER EAR BRIGADE, and psych-R&B/funk sensation SAY SHE SHE. Then in the second minute the music takes a turn: toward something more quirky and perhaps akin to the music of ULTRAPHAUNA or Markus Pajakkala's UTIOPIANISTI (with kind-of-operatic female vocals). At 4:40 we are again transported into another genre of music, this one being 1960s bossa nova, but only briefly, as a bridge, into a heavier passage with pulsing bass, guitar, and sax lines presenting a kind of jazzy R&B. This is so like Strasbourgeois band OIAPOK! Cool! (13.5/15)

3. "Wind-Up Bird" (6:55) Now the Zeulish strains I was sensing beneath the music in the previous two songs comes to the fore--but only for the opening, then it moves toward a CAMEMBERT-, SETNA-, or even NOT A GOOD SIGN-like: quirky, heavy, using some avant-garde stylistic approaches. This is AltrOck Productions/Fading Records music! And, let me tell you: I really appreciate the band's condescension in using modern sound engineering techniques on their instruments this time around: instead of sounding like a garage band (performing in the garage) they sound much more professional (I say this even as I listen to Mathew Rakers' extended Ray Manzarek/"Light My Fire"-like organ solo in the sixth minute). Based on the presentation of this song, I have a feeling that the band is familiar with the work of Michal Urbaniak and Urszula Dudziak, which is awesome. (14.25/15)

4. "Malakas" (4:22) a jazz tune very close to the kind INNER EAR BRIGADE has been doing for the past decade (though maybe not quite as Canterbury-leaning). (8.75/10) 5. "Mirage" (4:28) another multi-tiered stop-and-start staccato music construct with the wordless female vocalists sounding more like Middle Eastern desert singers. (8.875/10)

Total Time 32:11

Though I still have some issues with the band's sound presentation choices (engineering), I have only commendations and praise for both their conceptual/compositional skills and musicianship.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of quirky avant-prog. A step up in production value from the previous album but a disappointing 32-minutes in length!

1. "Pyromancer" (6:39) a very odd and unique combination of sounds and styles: seemingly jazz bass, some almost Caribbean rhythms though the drummer is totally playing prog style, then with operatic male and female vocalists singing over the top in a watered down style that I can only compare to bands like Koenjihyakkei and To-Mera. Interesting! The mix and engineering feel a bit off with some tracks perhaps too compressed while others have an entirely different feel. (8.75/10)

2. "Believerbot" (6:36) angular prog music with very odd lyrics delivered in a theatric style that reminds me of ESTRADASPHERE, SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM, and even BEARDFISH. The sound issues I noted in the previous song continue here with some of the tracks feeling like their musicians may have never met one another in the real 3D universe. The musicianship, however, is excellent on this complex piece of avant prog. (8.875/10)

3. "Muad'Dib" (9:26) opens with two layers of music: the bass, drums, and rhythm guitar playing a stop and go rondo of staccato "limbo"-like jazzy music while an effected electric guitar strums his slow heavily-distorted chords in a universe somewhere over the top. In the second minute the guitar up top is replaced by co-lead vocalists Daniel Johnson and Anastasya Korol, weaving their well-trained voices in a very well-executed harmonic thread with periodic "chorus" sections in which the musicians below turn off the staccato and blast out some loud chords beneath Dan and Ana. At the four-minute mark the music takes a turn toward some kind of Indo-Arabian-influenced dance-trance pattern within which Ryan Bradley's lead guitar is woven within Dan and Ana's now-incomprehensible (wordless) ecstatic vocal performance. This is so cool! The section ends with a kind of Fiddler on the Roof scat finish. Then the music moves into a sultry/sexy Mediterranean jazz-dance motif in which Dan and Ana sing, still harmonizing with one another, as if in a kind of opium drug-stupor. What a song! Wow! This one's going to need multiple listens! (18.5/20)

4. "Sirens" (6:46) more unusual jazz-sounding ethnic jazz-rock music. Drummer Billy Petty's track(s) is left so untreated that it makes you wonder if he was recorded with one mic in the garage--or in the back yard. Daniel and Anastasya enter with another magical, mystical performance, still singing as if two heads of the same creature, this time with Ana in the lead, as they slowly sing as if trying to hypnotize us against our wills--as if they know what they're trying to do. In the sped up chorus (and thereafter) Daniel moves into the lead position while Ana switches to melodic floating vocalese in the background. When Daniel stops singing--replaced by the dreamy pedal steel guitar--Ana continues wafting her seductive and mesmerizing voice the entire time. I do believe that this band has just accomplished the most realistic version of a Siren "attack"! At least, it's the best that I've ever heard. Truly embodying the mythical women/creatures of Homer's conjuring. (14.25/15)

5. "Plot Armor" (8:31) led by a bouncy ChapmanStick-like electric keyboard chord play it appears that there are two women singing the harmonized duet but one may just be Daniel singing in a less operatic, more human tone. The music and even palette sound a lot to me like those of early iNFiNiEN--even into the Genesis-like instrumental passage in the middle: more the complexity and unusual jazz-tinged chord and rhythmic constructs used. Nice synth play/solo by Mathew Rakers in the sixth minute. Another song that took me multiple listens for full feeling. Were it not for the still odd sound engineering going on I would call this close to a perfectly rendered highly-sophisticated composition. In the end, I am convinced that the second voice is female; it would be quite a coup if it were another version of Anastasya: that kind of variety would certainly seal the stamp of skill and virtuosity for her talents. (19/20)

6. "Cattle Brand" (6:11) an odd, more stage-theatric song of more odd instrumental tracks backing a cabaret-like vocal duet from Daniel and Anastasya. I don't know if the band is low on fund or intentionally using the utmost-minimal amount of effects on their instruments (even in the engineering room) but the individual instruments are so starkly contrasting in their sound: electric bass plugged straight into the board, piano and drums (and even voices) recorded as if in a big stone room, guitars, though electrified, also quite minimally treated (perhaps with only a distortion pedal). The talent and unique creativity are present in megadoses, I guess I'm just hoping/wishing for a more cohesive (not so 'live in the living room') finished sound. (9/10)

Total Time 44:09

The conceptualization and musicianship are exceptional. The choices in sound quality are where I question the band.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of wonderfully refreshing and uniquely creative jazz-infused progressive rock music.

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.