Kayo Dot – Stained Glass EP (2011)
23 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Album, Reviews Tags: Kayo Dot, Stained Glass
I’ve been a Kayo Dot fan for a couple years ago, hearing Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue first, which took me to another universe the first time I heard it. Then I fell in love with Choirs of the Eye, which also blew me away. Unfortunately, Kayo Dot’s following two albums were too experimental for me, and well, many moments on the album just sounded like unorganized noise. Kayo Dot’s newest release, however, is a huge step in the right direction.
The first time I heard the EP, I didn’t really “get it,” but I think I understand Toby Driver’s purpose here. Stained Glass is one track and keeps the strange, jazzy, avant sound: it shimmers, wails, crackles and floats for an entire 20 minutes. There is no recognizable song structure here, but instead a vivid, pastoral journey that is over before you realized it started. I really love the use of unconventional instruments, and the strange nature of the bass lines.
Stained Glass is not everyone’s cup of tea. If you’re into very experimental post-rock, jazz, noise rock, ambient or avant-garde, then this is a great recording from one of the best of the scene. Even though this EP is a sign of compositional maturity for Toby Driver and the rest of the Kayo Dot crew, it’s still not cohesive enough for me to fall in love with. Where Choirs and Dowsing would both get fives from me, this one gets three kegs.
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J.
