Elektro Guzzi: Polybrass
Denovali Records
When Joni Mitchell sang, “Something's lost and something's gained,” she of course wasn't referring to the modification in identity that occurs when musicians are added to a band's core. Think, for example, of Talking Heads and the difference that occurred when it expanded to twice its size for Remain in Light. As stunning as it is, the album signaled a radical shift from the sound presented on More Songs About Buildings and Food. Something similar might be said of Elektro Guzzi, which for the longest time operated as a tight guitar-bass-and-drums unit. In adding trombones and even, in a couple of instances, vocals, the ‘live techno' identity so indelibly documented by Bernhard Breuer, Bernhard Hammer, and Jakob Schneidewind on earlier recordings is downplayed on Polybrass, though it's still present beneath those extra layers.
Having trombonists Hilary Jeffrey, Daniel Riegler, and Martin Ptak aboard does open up a new set of possibilities and make for a presentation that's more expansive, but it also means the essence of Elektro Guzzi as earlier established is less conspicuous. As if to draw attention to that alteration, the opener “Backlash” begins with the trombones only, the musicians' tones assembling into a fanfare-styled chorale that eventually gives way to a signature Elektro Guzzi groove. This first appearance of the trio's trademark lockstep is one of the album's most pleasure-inducing moments, one that stands out even more for being the rare presentation of the group's attack in its unadorned form.
One of the recording's most successful integrations arises in “Black Chamber” when the trio's kinetic rumble remains audible alongside the muted tones of the trombones and the thickening of sound that occurs when synthesizer-like patterns are folded into the mix. Other trio-trombones couplings work well, too: a throbbing techno pulse powers “Tourin,” a gripping exercise in vertiginous roar whose buildups the trio intensifies with a crisp attack and the horns an insistent ostinato figure; a bass-thudding strut thunders so powerfully at the heart of “Irritation,” no amount of horn and synthesizer layers can obscure it; and “Yuugen” bolts from the gate with a low-end, funky thrust whose motorik push also thankfully isn't overwhelmed by the accrual of other elements.
Slightly less enthralling is “Miney Mick,” not so much for the singing by Vienna-based Lisa Kortschak, which is passable enough, but for having her sing nursery rhyme lyrics (“Eeny meeny miny moe / Go catch the tiger by the toe / And if he hollers let him go / Eeny meeny miny moe”) alongside the trio's aggressive, synth-swirling chug; interestingly, the album ends with a punchy instrumental version, which suggests that the group's music is better served by a non-vocal approach (or at least one equipped with less childlike lyrics). Vocals also surface in the charging club throwdown “Aerostat,” this time as shouted commands, and here too it's telling that it's the only offputting element in the delirious track's production. To the band's credit, Polybrass sees Elektro Guzzi refusing to sit still and coast by recycling past recordings. Yet as commendable as that is, listeners enamoured of the trio's singular stripped-down presentation might wish a little bit more of it had been included on the new release.November 2018