Tyler Damon & Tashi Dorji – Soft Berm (Magnetic South, 2018) ****

By Tom Burris


Recorded live in Bloomington, IL in 2017, Soft Berm is a lo-fi, monophonic cassette that will probably be discussed in hushed tones in the very near future. “Yeah, well did you ever hear Soft Berm?” One of those. The cassette is already long gone, but the download can be had on Bandcamp. (For now.) I also want to make clear that this cassette is not the starting point for getting in on the Dorji/Damon craze; but it is absolutely essential for those of us who have been indoctrinated.

Opening with moody 80s Sonic Youth clang, the lo-fi atmosphere immediately asserts itself as a positive. By the 3.5 minute mark, Dorji and Damon are already in the zone & the now familiar gorgeous drone and violent crashing of waves are in full bloom. The pure joy of these sounds overwhelms.

Seven minutes in, Damon takes a solo using a pair of what sounds like wicker shakers. Dorji chimes in with dissonant plucking. Something is weaved into the guitar strings so the sustain is gone, making everything a percussive stab. There are occasional plucks on the lowest string (tuned lower than an E), which is not muted as it booms out loudly. Once the energy level picks up again, Damon's manic groove kicks down so hard Dorji is forced to clang in time. Feverish.

An otherworldly approximation of Beefheartian ethno trashgroove dominates later on with Dorji looping a bit and adding atmospheric additions over the top. (Damon does not get enough credit for being such a master of groove, btw.) A crazy storm starts brewing with howling and wind chimes clanging together. It finally hits, blowing over everything in sight. The post storm rubble doesn't leave much to work with though, and the last several minutes feel tagged on. But you'll still look through the smoke to see what's happening.

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Tyler Damon & Dave Rempis – Full Yum (Park 70, 2018) ****½

By Tom Burris

Another out-of-print cassette review for ya. But you can get the download on Bandcamp and listen to it on your phone – which is how you were gonna listen to it anyway. And if you're even remotely interested in Kuzu, you'll need to stick this in your phone immediately. Rempis and Damon are perfect foils for each other, their dynamic making it often impossible to tell who is leading who for much of the set.

“Give You The Good Taste” (Side A) kicks off at full tilt and keeps that momentum up for long enough to make you wonder how much longer they can do it – but eventually it lands on a hard bop Blue Note session. For about two minutes. Then it's interstellar spacemen trampling all over your dad's record collection in a way that I can only describe as radical free music perfection. Damon is giving Rempis everything he's got and Dave throws it right back in Tyler's face with some added – and it escalates like this until the end. Just... wow.

“Classic Aftertaste” (Side B) begins softly (yes) with a somewhat rhythmically stiff pattern, which gradually loosens and swings more as it develops. The interplay between the two is so deep the music starts to swing like a motherfucker, dancing itself into a frenzy. Rempis is perfect here. Nothing is out of place and everything he does serves to elevate the music – and his partner's reaction to it. And as before, Damon is inspired to the point that he always throws more back in than he receives. The music moves between grooves and free ecstasy, always balancing on the line between structure and freedom – finally culminating in the last minute when 60 seconds of total freedom sound entirely composed.

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Heart of the Ghost – s/t cassette (Pidgeon, 2018) ****

By Tom Burris

OK so by now the second HOTG album has been released – but two things. I haven't heard the new one yet. And I'll be late for my own damn funeral, so here's what happened the first time around. As you probably already know, HOTG is D.C. Bassist / workaholic / impresario Luke Stewart's trio with Jarrett Gilgore (alto) and Ian McColm (drums). The cassette is already sold out – but you can get a download for a mere five bucks on Bandcamp, which I highly recommend getting. Cassettes suck anyway.

Side A:
Gilgore & McColm kick things off with a bang, soon joined by Stewart. Around the 2:30 mark, it goes quiet w/ Ian on brushes. Gilgore's lines become fairly long and oddly accented, like he's having an intense conversation with himself as Luke and Ian attempt to push things in a new direction. Stewart bows wildly as group intensity rises. A rickety boat begins to sink following the freak-fest. You can almost smell the rust on this manliest of vessels. The members of the trio align themselves to the sole cause of getting the thing to shore. Conversations are tense, but cooperative. As soon as it's docked, Luke lets loose with a riff and all join in, pushing with forward momentum. Gilgore rides on top of the groove, tethered to it, attempting to break free. Ian and Luke cage him.

Side B:
A slower intro this time, leading into a thoughtful solo by Stewart. Gilgore and McColm join in at the perfect time, elongating and elaborating on ideas laid out by Stewart. Gilgore eventually takes the lead and sets a melodic pace for awhile, even as Luke and Ian begin scraping and scratching underneath. As you might expect, Luke & Ian get their way in the end, with the music collapsing in on itself several times over. Poor Jarrett Gilgore. Dude can't get a break. I hope the other guys aren't so jealous of you the second time around!

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Gerrit Hatcher – Parables for the Tenor (Astral Spirits, 2018) ****

By Tom Burris

Although Gerrit Hatcher is a relative newcomer, Parables for the Tenor marks his second album for solo saxophone. Kicking off with “Fanfare for the Bankrupt,” Hatcher's dry, smoky tone invokes melody, softness, overtones – and harsh, gravelly speed-runs in the first 30 seconds. And it makes logical sense – such sense that you'll wonder what anyone else could've played as a resolve. Tea kettle, dead mid-register tone, silence, low blurt. Ever wonder what a smackless Kaoru Abe would sound like? More cohesive, less nods, similar energy and idea scope.

“Fanfare” is kind of a primer, almost an overture, for things to come. “The Offer” is basically an extension of the concepts introduced on the first track, alternating blasts with short pauses and culminating with a melancholy melody racing itself into a blur of Pharoah overtones. On “Processional,” a clear theme emerges from the outset which Hatcher bends and stretches, jumping away from and then back into, testing its elasticity, jumping out farther with each consecutive leap. Toward the end of the piece he crawls into the butthole of the thing and flips its body inside-out. For musicality and biology, he earns his A+ here.

Soft Hatcher sure ain't no smooth jazz. On “A Dream from Sleep During Sunrise,” it's a weird Ayler-does-Prez thing that tiptoes through a tentative theme that we're lucky enough to eavesdrop in on. His short phrasing works well here, fluttering around a theme, as it does on the follow-up track, “The Measures,” until flying way out into overtone land – and I mean waaay out, like Arthur Doyle out. The acrobatic act keeps the listener in constant suspense – an essential element in keeping one engaged throughout an album-length solo recording.

“Learn Alternatives to Mercy” is a vehicle with different size wheels at each end of both axles. Three-note phrases rip through the middle section, eventually becoming exotic bird screeches – then toning down to a warm flutter, alternating with the bird shrieks toward the end. As of this writing, Astral Spirits has 14 of these cassettes left on its Bandcamp page. Run!

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