Savant Garde, is the 3rd release from Quasimojo, a Toronto based electro-groove oriented trio made up of vocalist Maureen Spillane, multi-instrumentalist Locksley Taylor, and drummer Dean Williams. Of the album’s 10 tracks, several are quite good, showcasing the obvious talent of all three members. The album begins with “Radio Alphabet India” which is a delicate and hypnotic track consisting of interwoven layers of indistinguishable vocals, intricate synth-patterns and a cadenced drum line. This track manages to remain dreamy without sacrificing melody, which is a feat indeed, and undeniably the album’s strongest offering. “Radio Alphabet India” is followed up by “Contact Cement,” a clicking, complex ensemble of grooves wrapped around Spillane’s severed and reassembled vocals in a hypnotic refrain that defines the track. Quasimojo continues to prove themselves on the album’s 3rd track “Tristan Isolde/Mylie’s Got Something Worth Sleeping For” in which the band once again manages to infuse essentially electronic music with an emotional heart. This track begins much the same way as “The Contact Cement” left off, with a melodic arrangement of clicking and popping electro-grooves only to dive into a fragile and delicate version of the same melody that reminds the listener of an open music box. Eventually, and through several repetitions, this melody is gradually built upon until it is once again a layered and rich version of its slight and dainty original. The next two tracks, both instrumentals, are decidedly weaker. Both “Orange Room” and “Mangina!” are richly layered synth-laden tracks that provide interest, but little heart. Unlike their predecessors, both “Orange Room” and “Mangina!” lack the emotional element that defined the first part of the album. Later tracks vary in the same inconsistent manner. The 6th track, “Horse-Faced Woman” combine similar electronic grooves over what manages to sound like acoustic guitar riffs and frenetic drums. However these elements are overpowered later in the track by Spillane’s vocals, which have been given too much emphasis in the mixing. On the other hand, the album’s 7th track “Sagebrush” is another strong instrumental that is sprinkled with eastern influence and a brooding rhythm interrupted by electronic dissonance effects. And so it goes: Savant Garde continues to its end skipping from instrumentals to vocal tracks that range in style and quality. On the whole, Savant Garde is a release that is contains some really stellar moments, coupled with some truly mediocre ones as well. Overall, I would recommend this to fans of Mandalay, Portishead and to listeners who cherish those rare instances in electronic music in which emotion is not sacrificed for digital slight of hand.
posted by: cmaze (reply)
post date: 06.11.04 (10:35 am)
woohoo! great review of a group i LOVE! nice! i love ya, juni, you're awesome!
