Barnacled - Charles
SKU
34-ESP 4049
If you read the musican credits at the bottom of this listing, you will see that Barnacled is basically an offshoot of Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores. Every musician bar Michael has been a member of the Eyesores at one time or another. The music here - recorded in a single-night's session - is often very reminsicent of the Eyesores, but with a bit more of everything - more noise, more raw, rough-hewn rhythms, more 'progressive' influences, more improvisation, more more more. This isn't an Eyesores album and should not be treated as such, but fans of the Eyesores will hear familiar stylistic overlap.
"Charles, Barnacled's new full-length, and first outing for ESP-Disk', is a rollicking, propulsive offering featuring the band in some of its most intricate formations. This deftly arranged record follows Barnacled as it tightens itself into high corners, only to purposely fall down, find new ground, and pick itself back up again. This work is highly playful, even at its most intense—and it does get intense, with saxophone battles surging over electronics and highly distorted accordion fire offerings. Then all of a sudden the sound drops out, save for a plaintive lone bassoon call, or static from a short-wave radio that sounds soothing by comparison. Intertwining rhythms and melody lines then revolve around a pulse that creates a new frame of reference while also complicating it. This music invites deep listening, and rewards the curious. Often it is simply mesmerizing—essentially what adventurous minds have come to expect from the legendary ESP-Disk' oeuvre."
Frank Difficult: electronics/keyboard
Michael Jeffries: bass/baritone saxophone/modified Speak & Spell
Jason McGill: alto saxophone/percussion/shortwave radio
Matt McLaren: drums/percussion
Alec K. Redfearn: accordion
Ann Schattle: horn in F
Erica Schattle: bassoon