Arcane Candy

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

Text ©2011 Arcane Candy

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

Text ©2011 Arcane Candy