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| Buke and Gass |
| "self titled" EP |
| by:
Paolo De Gregorio - June 6, 2009 |
It doesn't happen very often that we find out about an emerging
rock band that is absolutely mind blowing, both on record and live. Buke
and Gass is such a band. This project can be described as a "two man (wall
of sound) band" - although one of them is a woman - in the old fashioned meaning
of musicians playing several instruments at once while walking around. B+G don't
walk while performing (they actually sit) but they still manage to play a multitude
of instruments at once while singing: bass, guitar, ukulele, kick drum, snare,
tambourine and sleigh bells. Oh, and when we say "at once", we mean it: the
players never switch instruments during the performance (to see how they do
this, just go to their live shows). The resulting sound, filtered through various
pedals and amplified by a stereo pair of funny looking guitar amps, is a truly
unique, larger than life wall of detuned bass/guitar/ukulele patterns, counterpointed
by kick/snare/tambourine and sleigh bell rhythms. But what takes this band to the next (ultimate?) level is the
songwriting and live performance. Arone Dyer's beautiful vocals and melodies
have a tension and tone reminiscent of legendary Throwing Muses - or early PJ
Harvey, if you are not familiar with Kirstin Hersh's band - and can reach peaks
of altitude I have only heard from Portishead's Beth Gibbons and a few top notch
soul singers. Her Buke (a bass ukulele) mostly integrates with decorative and
melodic parts Aron Sanchez's asymmetrical "one (crazy) man band rhythm section",
mostly product of his Gass - some sort of hybrid between guitar and bass with
four outputs. Their live show sounds surprisingly similar... actually - IDENTICAL
to what you hear on their record (which is absolutely remarkable, considering
the complexity of the material). Their songwriting is often unstructured alternating
full blast moments with others more sparse and lyrical. Dyer owns the stage
with her quirky presence and adorable smile, a crucial ingredient many uber
cool hipster musicians tragically fail to deliver. This is music that can't
be ignored. BUY THEIR CD HERE NOW!
- PDG - Buke and Gas February 09 CD of the Month review here.
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Buke and Gass
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