4th Round Moderns: Perils v. Jean Louis

Next up... a battle of two greats! In previous rounds we did song samples, great PA's reviews, with this round I wanted to do something a different. So I went outside PA's..  what do people outside of this site say about these albums.

first up.. still the greatest band name in the tournament.. perhaps in all music

Perils by Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses

There's something magical about an instrumental band. Something so utterly poignant about having absolutely no vocals and no lyrics attached to the meaning your music gets across. Instrumental bands are perfectly content letting their music speak for itself. Sometimes, the listener can get more from a few stringed instruments and a drum than they can get from overly-philosophical lyrical content. Miasma and the Carousel of Countless Horses is one of these instrumental bands. They manage to weave creepy tales, horrific stories, and haunting reflections without saying anything verbally. Everything is in the music.

While it's hard not to compare them to other bands on their label, Web of Mimicry, such as Sleepytime Gorilla Museum or Secret Chiefs 3, it's also strangely difficult to not mention Tom Waits in the same breath. Perhaps what's most boggling is that only one of the groups mentioned is even minorly all-instrumental (SC3), yet the comparisons are so painfully apparent. Mix those groups in, take out any vocals, and add a heavy dose of Trevor Dunn's Trio Convulsant and you will get very close to what Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses brings to the musical palate. Thankfully, they aren't just an amalgamation of a few groups and their music is as intense, intricate, and insidious as it is delightful.

Perils is truly a splendid release, one of wonder and majesty, of fun and ecstasy. It is a jubilant, upbeat record, which seems to go against everything that was said in the last sentence of the first paragraph of this review. As much as that is true, it is also true that both of these things, although polar opposites, are absolutely true. And not because they take turns. Miasma is all of these things, all at once.

If you can't resist pounded keys, violins, and vague discord, Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses is right up your alley. Ichabod Crane never had it so good.

and against them we have..

Jean Louis by Jean Louis

ean Louis offer up an avant-fusion sound which draws deeply from avant-prog and Rock In Opposition to offer a decidedly unusual sound. Imagine one of Miles Davis' fusion-era lineups attempting to cover Larks' Tongues-era King Crimson, the harsher side of Magma, or Western Culture-era Henry Cow and you perhaps come close to what's going on here. Even that description doesn't quite sum up the diverse sound of the group; whilst they spend the majority of their time with at least one foot in the wildest frontiers of jazz territory, in some passages they seem to leave jazz behind entirely, yet at the same time they do a good job of integrating all the different sounds they call on into a cohesive whole.

this is one of most interesting, to me personally, of all the 4th round matches...

definitely some refresher listens to two of my absolute favorite discoveries of the tournament.. happy to see both make it this far.

Enjoyed Perils a lot, but still haven't heard Jean Louis, so no vote.

Holding my vote until I can give both a full listen

not in full perhaps.. you sort of had to piece it together

well there you go!! No excuses now not to vote haha

these polls are going to be open for two weeks, we are off to Progday next weekend so rather than try closing them from a hotel somewhere when trying to get out the door to the show I'm letting them run two weeks. It is a holiday weekend here as well, likely to be few of us Americans around the site next weekend besides.

lucky you man...  at least I get Ut Gret with Cheyenne Saturday.. I'll be in 7th heaven..

Actually not that huge on Perils, JL is much better imo...

2 good ones, Perils