Peter Ivan Edwards, also known as PIE, is an American-born composer and baker now based in Singapore. (I had no idea there was an avant-garde classical scene down there!) His first collection of baked goods, Object Lessons, consists of four recent era aural cupcakes with expiration dates that ranged from 2005-2009. The oven opens wide inside a “Dark Room,” a stop / start-style percussion ensemble workout based on a scattershot compositional technique that grabs you by the ears and forces you to pay close attention to the sonic properties of each and every instrument. This piece is vaguely reminiscent of Edgard Varese’s classic “Ionisation” from 1931, although it’s not so forward-lurching. Scored for solo piano, “Carve and Color” operates in a similar manner. Inspired by viewing abstract expressionist paintings up close then far away, its many and varied notes emulate splattered paint drops as they range from short-lived intricate, rapid runs to banging dissonance (up close) to a single note slowly repeated in a quiet, candle-lit room (far away). This is the central compositional theme in the composer’s work. “Schnappchenjagd” heads right back into the same percussion field–but this time solo–that we first visited in the “Dark Room.” Closing out the album in surprising fashion is “Hareu! Hareu!” for solo guitar, in which actual melodic lines are plucked in between the odd lone note, creating a forlorn yet warm sonic Cubist painting. If you like the taste of academic music pie, the time is nigh to fork up a slice of Object Lessons.

Label: Albany Records Catalog Number: TROY1213 Format: CD Packaging: Jewel case Tracks: 4 Total Time: 52:50 Country: United States Released: 2011 More: Amazon, YSTCM, Official

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Although you’ve probably never heard of Keeril Makan, and his CD Target may not be available at Target, that shouldn’t stop you from seeking it out, buying a copy and letting it float straight into your head like a vivid sonic onslaught straight outta the Large Hadron Collider. Spanning a decade, from 1998 through 2007, these four fairly wide-ranging avant-garde classical works somehow form a cohesive whole. Kicking off the proceedings is, of course, track 1, which is actually called “2.” Since when did 2 become 1? And is 2 the numeral the same as two the word? I thought Grease was the word. What about three? Is it the same as seven? Does 2+2=5? The world may never know.

But, Keeril Makan’s “2″ certainly knows how to play with your head–using nothing but violin and percussion! Its non-climactic, insistent, one-note rhythm stops and starts, proceeds faster, then slower–sometimes simple, sometimes complex–rushes past, then stops on a ping pong ball, only to get all contemplative, ending in just the kind of Xenakis-like Brillo Pad scrapefest that I’m more than happy to enter at any moment. “Zones d’Accord” puts an alternate tuning on a cello then sends it on its way, flowing like jello over a sandpaper-coated ribbon–sometimes quiet and meditative, sometimes suddenly exploding into a cup of raucous cole slaw composed of raw open string saw with a heap of harmonics flitting through the air.

Composed of text concerning the imperial wars of aggression the United States government has been waging in the Middle East for a decade, the title track offers up a serious workout for a mezzo soprano and a chamber ensemble as it veers from regular songform to crazed micro-tonal crescendos to a rock-like insistence that only a mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin and family friend could love. Although “Resonance Alley” was Inspired by James Tenney’s piece for solo tam tam, “Having Never Written a Note For Percussion,” it’s definitely not a rip-off. Scored for three cymbals and a gong, it spends nearly a half hour bringing the album to a close with a flow motion aural mist comprised of rhythmic tapping, pinging and rub-a-dub washing that will take you on an effortless journey far beyond the local laundromat. Brandishing four slabs of sonic excellence, Target really is right on target, and easily ranks as one of the best avant-garde classical albums of 2011, or any other year. This is really strong stuff.

Label: Starkland Catalog Number: ST-217 Format: CD Packaging: Jewel case Tracks: 8 Total Time: 69:10 Country: United States Released: 2011 More: Amazon, The Glass, Official, Other Minds, Starkland

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Dedication is an apt title for a CD full of pieces by a myriad of composers dedicated to the Prism Quartet for their 20th anniversary in 2004. I was surprised as punch that they’ve been around since 1984. That’s a long-ass time–longer than George Orwell’s nervous system if you laid it all out end to end! Mostly inhabiting the one to three-minute range, these songs range all over the musical feed lot. From lightweight, bouncy and spiffy lines to homely, held tones that segue on a train-flattened quarter into a briar-filled sour patch. From perky and melodic to shrill foghorn blasts to lilting cartoon morning music, the Prism Quartet manhandles it all like the seasoned pros they are.

What with its quiet drones and super low-key atmosphere, my favorite track is, predictably enough, Matthew Levy’s “Meditations,” Too bad it’s only a couple of minutes long. Another good one is Frank Oteri’s “Seeming Partial,” which is the perfect soundtrack for some poor sap whose wife just dumped him right after he lost his job and got diagnosed with a brain tumor. This CD comes complete with a thick-ass booklet featuring notes on all of the pieces and composers. Regarding the front cover design, four out of five gangster rappers surveyed commented, “Aw, hail naw! That photo look dope as f%$# with they faces chopped off like that and re-pasted at the bottom.” I find myself very much in agreement. Who knows what the Prism Quartet has in store for their 30th anniversary coming up in 2014? Hopefully, a 74-minute rendition of James Tenney’s “Saxony.”

Label: Innova Catalog Number: Innova 800 Format: CD Packaging: Jewel case Tracks: 23 Total Time: 57:53 Country: United States Released: 2011 More: Amazon, Baskweb, Official

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Hey Dave, just checking in. What have you been up to? I got your new CD, Logistic Minutia, in the mail. Thanks for sending it. Your name’s missing from the cover, though. I’m surprised no one in Editorial caught that. Mom’s kind of upset. I had to do a double take, I mean a Web search just to make sure this is actually your music. Yep, it is–in all of its avant classical / rick, I mean ruck, I mean rock hybrid glory. Just in case you’re unfamiliar with your own latest music, what it all adds up to is a 20-minute, four-song, short-but-sweet EP in which an electic guitar, bass and drum kit supplies a heavy groove as synths flit about, and a brass section consisting of trombones, trumpets and a French horn wax periodically melodic, woozy like a drunk floozy and occasionally more dissonant than a disrespected dentist. In a nutshell, Logistic Minutia is the perfect treadmill workout music for any robot kangaroo on a permanent Mountain Dew high. I’ll bet you didn’t know any of that that, Dave. P.S. I was just wondering, is Jeff Nelson from Minor Threat your dad?

Label: Dnel Music Catalog Number: Ain’t none Format: CD Packaging: Cardboard sleeve Tracks: 4 Total Time: 21:30 Country: United States Released: 2011 More: Amazon, Atlas and the Anchor, Bandcamp

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Fadensonnen is back in Black for their third color-titled half-hour EP. (I can’t wait until they cross the entire color spectrum and end up at Burnt Sienna or Turquoise.) The opening track, “Night of Sharoque Coughs,” features some lonesome guitar picking that is occasionally interupted by schizo workouts on the drum kit. “Sweet Judy Brown” is the first song in the Fadensonnen canon with vocals, which remind me a lot of the singing on The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy. Careful, guys–you might attract a fanbase. “Gnid Gnid” shuts down the album in a more atmospheric rock vein with tin cans dripping in the background as distant drums throb and the guitars chime and moan on into a lengthy, churning din. Here’s hoping that PD and RD will be joined by R2D2 and C3PO on their next EP for a Fadensonnen quartet take on the bar scene from Star Wars.

Label: Fadensonnen Records Catalog Number: 003 Format: CD-R Packaging: Digi-Pak Tracks: 3 Total Time: 32:17 Country: United States Released: 2011 More: Official, YouTube

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Whereas Fadensonnen’s first album, Grey, was named after the most well-known type of alien, White pays tribute to that most beloved paranormal phenomenon: the ghost. (Punching the cobweb-covered clock at just 25 minutes, it seems that the latter could have been included on the same disc as the 30 minute long former.) Shyly boasting just two tracks, the EP kicks off in high gear with the duo of PD and RD a-pickin’ and a-grinnin’ their way through “Slit the Moon,” whipping up a dense, sloppy electric guitar maelstrom supported by a backbone of simple, Velvety drum thwack. “White of Ice” flip-flops the mood with a much more subdued sound stage filled with spacious drones that hover like body wash mist in a dank dressing room as gently-picked melodies tease some downwardly mobile stripper’s alcohol-logged head into a stupor.

Label: Fadensonnen Records Catalog Number: 002 Format: CD-R Packaging: Digi-Pak Tracks: 2 Total Time: 25:01 Country: United States Released: 2011 More: Official, YouTube

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PD and RD (I’m on an initials-only basis with these guys!), also known as Fadensonnen, is a duo of din-makers who hail (a cab) from Brooklyn, New York. (Soon to be re-named Old York, or maybe New Spice.) On their alien-titled debut CD, Grey, they offer your brain / ears combo a half hour’s worth of surly sonics that crawl the gamut from noisy guitar feedback with maniacally hyperactive, freeform drumming to sparse, plaintive pickfests to all-out drone / riff-athons–all reverb-soaked and recorded in murky lo-fidelity. This shirt, I mean short but sweet set is sure to please electric fans of sub-underground drone / shamble rock–especially from Japan and New Zealand.

Label: Fadensonnen Records Catalog Number: 001 Format: CD-R Packaging: Digi-Pak Tracks: 5 Total Time: 30:14 Country: United States Released: 2010 More: Official, YouTube

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Like a rotting burger submerged in a stagnant pond, the music of Berger Rond is composed of just the type of sonic gastro-intestinal chaos that instantly repels most people. Well, I’m not like most people, so I welcome with open arms the Berg’s special efforts to crumble up reality like a paper ball, throw it away, take a nap, wake up, fetch it back out and unfold it to reveal an ever-expanding map of Planet Weird. We’re talking deeply unpretty, lurching, start ‘n’ stop seizure music of a fairly tall order. Recognizable instruments like cello, cymbals, drums, piano, violin and xylophone get layered with banging musique concrete-like sounds to form fractured rhythms and melodies. Then the whole mess gets sprinkled with myriad layers of random blats, bleats and homely French singing to push it a little bit further out. It’s the perfect wedding music, if your bride is a duckbill platypus and the reception takes place inside a house of mirrors in an active volcano on an asteroid that’s about to crash into Jupiter. Think Caroliner mashed up with Pierre Henry and you’re getting warm.

Label: Freaky Waves Format: CD-R Packaging: Slimline CD Case Tracks: 4 Total Time: 53:01 Country: Canada Released: 2010 More: Last.FM, The Sixty One, Official, This Great Society, WTFMusic, YouTube

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Hailing and wailing from sunny and smoggy Los Angeles, California, Karie Jacobson and Drew Kowalski–a musical duo known as The Dagons–ditch the brightly lit warm weather and head straight for a Louisiana swamp at midnight on their fifth full-length effort, Upon the Dull Earth. Brandishing fuzz guitar, a sitar brighter than a glass of Sprite, rock steady drums and reverb-bathed vocal melodies–all tethered together with a seriously booming bottom end–they comb, I mean combine sea shanties, ’60s psych and ’80s fence post-punk with an ease not seen since La-Z Boy debuted the recliner to the delight of armchair pirates everywhere. And where have I seen that cover wench before? Oh yeah, she modeled for the Starbucks logo!

Label: Dead Sea Captain Records Format: CD Packaging: Jewel Case Tracks: 15 Total Time: 38:10 Country: United States Released: 2010 More: Blogspot, Last.FM, Official

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Closely miked and cleanly recorded free improvisation from two Italians and a Brit. As soon as these three men man their instruments–piano, drums and bass–they proceed to push out vivid yet subtle sound waves that could silence a whole school bus full of laughing hyenas at Disneyland. We’re talking about tinkling and scraping contemplation that can effortlessly turn on a gold coin to stormy atonality without warning. And the understated, textured cover art acts as the perfect sheath for such a nice collection of late evening sounds.

Label: Big Round Records Catalog Number: BR8904 Format: CD Packaging: Digi-Pak Tracks: 14 Total Time: 58:09 Country: United States Released: 2010 More: Sebastiano Meloni, Naxos Direct, Adriano Orru, Tony Oxley

Text ©2011 Arcane Candy