Slang - The Bellwether Project
The first time I heard Slang wasn't too long ago while watching an animation on Hot Wired. I can't remember what was happening in the little window but the music got me.
Something about the way a catchy little riff in there kept being shoved aside by the cuts and scratches, only to ease back into the limelight holding things together is what did the trick I think. This is actually the form Slang seem to adopt throughout this debut release on the recently formed Terminus label, and it's a wise move.
There's an awful lot going on at any one time, from time to time, and the combination of one half of the duo's Dave School's (Widespread Panic) bass and the many and varied textures, pads, breaks and what not from the likes of DXT (Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock) members of Viperhouse (Michael Chorney and Zack Tonnissen,) Fognode, Jay Rodriguez, Pete Droge, Gordon Raphael and vocals from Lori Carson need that thread to keep things together.
The other half of the duo, also a bass player, Layng Martine III (aka Corporal Blossom) rounds out what is essentially an electronic jazz project, with no real indication of where the boundaries lay. I've listened through The Bellwether Project a few times now and I've heard something new, been put into different spaces and given fresh perspectives every time.
As multi-faceted and as fresh as you'll get.
Rating: 894,378 (out of a possible 1,000,000)
