COYOTE

Kayo Dot is another one of those bands that I admire and look forward to everytime they release a new album. The band is the brainchild of Toby Driver, previously the lead from Maudlin of the Well as most people know. Toby's music has always been challenging, sometimes harsh and noisy, other times thoughtful and inventive, but always challenging nonetheless. And that is one of the reasons why I love this band so much, is that you never know what to expect, and the music always takes time and exploration to really get it. Toby's constant companion with Kayo Dot has been Mia Matsumiya who always lends her talents on violin and guitar. Other than that, the band's line-up is often in flux, as the music can be quite demanding and often requires a change in style between each album.

"Coyote" was Kayo Dot's 4th studio album and it came after the less appreciated, but still excellent "Blue Lambency Downward". Many people weren't sure what to expect this time around as that previous album seemed to focus around a lighter, jazzier sound than the heaviness of the albums that came before. So, the question was, what is this album going to be like? Well, behind the scenes, right away there needed to be a different tone for this album. It was going to be a return to a darker sound. The reason for this is because the album is based upon a story and text from a close friend of the band who was also terminally ill from breast cancer, her name was Yuko Sueta. The story was written in a the last stages of her life, in fact, she died while the album was in production. Toby said that this album was going to be in a goth-fusion style, reminiscent to Bauhaus and The Cure. Coyote is more of a singular piece broken up into 5 sections, and Yuko actually toured with Toby and others to perform the piece before she passed away. Toby then re-adapted the piece for Kayo Dot who performed it on the road during 2009 while touring with "Secret Chiefs 3". Both Toby (bass and vocals) and Mia (violin and guitar) were joined on the album by David Bodie (drums and percussion), Daniel Means (alto sax), Terran Olson (tenor sax and keys), and Tim Byrnes (trumpet and French horn).

The album is obviously darker than the previous album right from the start, the music is more sustained, but also complex as expected. "Catonyction Girl" (7:59) begins with the strained sound of violin and sustained brassy notes along with a more taxed and emotional vocal from Toby. The melody is in his higher range causing him to stretch to sing, and that tenseness pushes the music. Later, more instruments are added and a complexity develops as the instruments vie for attention. The melody follows more the emotional charge of the lyrics than it does any traditional style tune-based melody, so it is tough to pick out any returning phrase or organization. Same thing with the instrumental lines. There is a lot going on here, and the melodic phrases are there, but those new to this kind of complexity may have a hard time with it. A more steady feel comes along in the sixth minute along with a more thematic element in the melody as the note structure gets more repetitive, but this is used for the text which the music also centers around. Though it is hard for some to understand, the music and composition is as brilliant as ever.

'Whisper Ineffable" (11:13) continues with the contrasting sounds of the instruments, again starting more sustained and hesitantly, with the bass and trumpet working against each other with the occasional shaking vibrato of the violin. At 3 minutes, a sudden explosion of drums bring in forceful vocals. The trumpet continues by supporting the vocals in a contrasting and also complimenting way as the bass thumps along and the drums roll along maniacally. Synth effects also swirl around and the violin starts to squeal and screech. Toby again pushes the envelope with his angry vocals, but still remaining clean, though angry. Finally a break in the intensity just before 7 minutes see the end of the vocals for now, and the brass takes on sustained notes while the violin whines and the bass and drums thump out sudden outbursts as the music returns to it's hesitancy of before. At 9 minutes, a more relaxed atmosphere comes in with the simpler sounds of French horn, sax iron things out a bit, yet the bass still remains heavy, playing hesitant and sporadic sets of notes.

"Abyss Hinge 1: Sleeping Birds Sighing in Roscolux" (3:45) featured heavy drums and bass and dissonant guitar and synths. The music isn't necessarily thick, but it is very grating and dissonant, especially in the tortured guitar. Layers of brass come in towards the end of the track and play contrasting melodic lines. "Abyss Hinge 2:The Shrinking Armature" (13:40) begins with several different lines that tend to come together and break apart often, this time involving pretty much all of the instruments. Dissonance and contrast is hard at work on this track and chimes are added to help brighten the darkness up a bit. The beat stays slow and steady, but it is really the only steady thing here as it grounds the more seemingly, chaotic randomness of the instruments. At 4 and a half minutes, things quiet down quite a bit and subdued vocals come in to a minimal bass and percussion accompaniment, later joined by sustained brass and ambient effects. After minutes, a start and stop bursting of bass and drums interrupt the quieter sound, and then this leads to more fighting between the guitar and other instruments. The harsh guitar again contrasts the smoother brass sounds as they create conflicting musical lines and the drums beat out its own contrasting rhythm. The music is thick and complex, abrasive and yet dark. All the contrast gets to be almost unbearable at this point especially with the stark contrasts of all the instruments and this track drags on a little too long. The last track is "Cartogram Out of Phase" (3:11) and features Toby singing slow and almost drunkingly as mournful brass, bass and drums lead him in a short funeral march of sorts. This ends everything on a giant downer, even if it is short.

The first 3 tracks are pretty good, while the last two are harder to enjoy as the sound gets to be a little overbearing and depressing. Where the previous album had some nice avant-jazz sounds to it, even if the melodies were complex, this one is just overbearing in its darkness and contrast of melody lines. It's not a bad album, and its pretty much the strange sound you expect from Kayo Dot, but it is also far from the masterpiece status of some of their other albums. However, the complexity saves it, especially in the first half of the album, yet in the end, is its downfall as it gets so dark and depressive. As much as I hate to, I have to go with 3 stars on this one, mainly because it doesn't hold my interest as long, even after many listenings. But, its not a complete failure, I just wouldn't say it's the album I would use to introduce others to their music.