As with the ‘Live Improv At Ceremony224, Brooklyn’ release, this features David Brenner (vocals, percussion, effects, samples, visuals), Benjamin Levitt (accordion, effects) and Greg Meisenberg (drums). It was recorded on March 4th, 2020. at the last show before the COVID-19 pandemic exploded in the area; just a week after this show the city was on extreme lockdown. This can be watched in its entirety on YouTube, and see the way the musicians interact with each other, but I am listening to what has been made available on Bandcamp for “name your price”. Not unsurprisingly, this is similar in some ways to the other album in that the same three musicians are building sound structures together, yet as before they are exploring into areas that many people would not necessarily view as music. There are long held-down notes, effects are applied to twist and distort, while vocals become white noise, and Greg hits the kit when he feels the need as opposed to maintaining any sort of time signature.
This is not music to be played in daylight, but instead is nightmare made flesh, turning the dark and twisted into sonic attacks on the senses, where nothing is nice and instead the evil in the world has come out to play. It is deep, frenetic, frantic, and utterly compelling. I am sure that if you play this at the correct volume then most people would view this as a weapon as opposed to entertainment, and if put on a party then it would clear the room. But those who stay with a strange look on their face and a request to turn it up are the ones you want to be with, kindred spirits who enjoy the dark side and want to move outside the norms. Powerful and inventive, Dave never ceases to explore new territories and take us with him places we would otherwise never know existed.
Rating: 8/10
