kayo dot - choirs of the eye

.:: Ever since its founding in 1995, John Zorn's Tzadik label has never failed at releasing albums that completely defy musical genre perception. Tzadik has backed everything from John Zorn's jewjazz ensemble Masada to the master of guitar destruction, Keiji Haino. And then there's electronic super girl, Tetsu Inoue, and the hilariously great Japanese traditional/electronic pop girl combo, Hoahio. However, amongst all this chaos of musical experimentation, this album, Choirs of the Eye, stands out dramatically.

The only real similarity to Tzadik's focal point, John Zorn's discography, is the fact that it mixes many genres into one cohesive product. Zorn's Naked City project, easily the defining point in his career, mixed jazz and grindcore. Toby Driver, Kayo Dot's lead member, aimed for something much more expansive and more like the progressive-metal roots of his previous (and inferior) band, Maudlin of the Well; instead, Kayo Dot's output is 90% chamber jazz-esque ambiance and 10% metal.

This small amount of metal, instead of hitting the Scandinavian black metal roots (a la Opeth), sounds like a clean version of Oceanic-era ISIS. No noisy gravel is audible in any of the 6 compositions on Choirs of the Eye: the music is, figuratively, clear as a bell. Even though the the guitar work in these "lashing out" sections are reminiscent of the dirty-sounding noise of any band associated with grindcore, such as the last two and a half minutes of the epic fourteen and a half minute-long "The Manifold Curiosity", the album comes off feeling smooth and listenable even for listeners not so comfortable with grindcore.

Toby Driver's experimentation is revealed much more clearly in the quieter sections. Instead of sounding similar to ISIS, the sound sounds more reminiscent of the ambiance of Rachel's and the chamber jazz of Tortoise. The style can be likened to post-rock, but I think a better likening would be to new age. Instead of relying heavily on the electric guitar, the quieter sections lean on piano, acoustic guitar, cello, and saxophone. The instrumentation, coupled with Driver's mumbled vocals, mixes a subtle Gothic overtone with Rachel's ambient/chamber musical compositions.

Surprisingly, unlike Rachel's and a majority of Tzadik's releases, pretension (whether it be good or bad) runs extremely low. The album, though only six tracks that total in nearly an hour of music, is extremely cohesive and easy to listen to. From the loud-quiet-loud-quiet pattern of the opening, ten-minute, composition "Marathon" to the epic conclusion of "The Antique", everything flows together into an almost movie soundtrack-like symphony. The key with this album, though, is that there is no filler; the album flows from the introductory punch of guitar and drums to the Harold Budd-esque piano ambiance-filled conclusion with absolute ease.

Fans exclusive to Tzadik's regular CHAOS EXPLOSION!@!@ might come out of this album feeling disappointed, but the album, as a whole, is excellent. This album is the definitive answer for people who think Opeth is far too cheesy (like me) and Rachel's sometimes doodles too much with their music. Tired of Masada's crazy jewjazz? Need something quieter? This album is for you. John Zorn has yet to fail us, and this album clearly shows it.

***this is one of my best kept secret albums... until now. and one of my favorite albums of all time***

download: kayo dot - choirs of the eye

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