With their tenth album, this Portland collective manages to release awildly organic mix of electronics and jazz that blends both avant-gardetendencies with more traditional song structures. Behind the Barberstartsoff with the introductory percussion rhythms and building electronic,string, and brass chaos of "Do The Slim Jim" before launching into thethe sprawling 16-minute "Slits Aranda." The track starts off with mutedbrass chords and shimmering cymbals that would not have been out ofplace on Miles Davis's Sketches of Spain before moving into apropulsive jazz sketch complete with female vocals and bellowingsaxophone courtesy of Jackie-O Motherfucker's Jeff Brown. The trackthen slides into a stew of horns and improvisational reeds beforepicking up again in the final three minutes with the original thumpingbass, percussion, and saxophone for a return to the track's main theme.While "Slits Aranda" shows Rollerball at their best, mixing traditionalstructure with avant-grade notions, other tracks highlight the band'sability to collaborate with guest artists. On "Burning Light," Portlandelectronic artist Nudge molds the band's sound in a way thatdeconstructs the various percussive and melodic elements, mixing eachinstrument (vocals included) to produce a cohesive blend that allowseach sound to retain its individual timbre. In the final three tracksof the album, Rollerball shifts into experimental mode, tinkering withgenres ranging from dub to free-form jazz. Behind the Barber'sfinal track, "Fake Tan," dissolves into a mix of a electronic chaos andmystical chants with a slow and chilling fade that ends the album on amore subtle note. Read More
