I've emerged from my ursine slumber into the cold, harsh light of the Blogosphere in order to review an album I recently picked up from my friendly, neighbourhood electroacoustic improv group, Fingerhut. I say only but then again I do live within spitting distance of Café Oto so I doubt they're the only one. Ah, one of the many perks of living in cultural North London. Full disclosure, I'm friends with one of the band so that explains why, in what has been an incredibly lazy year, I've actually gone out to see some live music. Recently I went to see Fingerhut & Friends perform a thoroughly entertaining set at Ryan's Bar in Stoke Newington for the release of their first CD. So in order to get my own creative juices flowing, here's a little review I've knocked together.
Fingerhut And Terry Day - Exegetes Of Riot
Fingerhut are a 4-piece improv group consisting of saxophonist and keyboard player David Kaplowitz, guitarist Paul Lucas, electric bassist Ryan Sarver and Martin Klang on electronics. The group are joined on drums by heavyweight veteran Terry Day. While the band themselves are relative unknowns on the improvising circuit (at least from my limited knowledge of the scene) Day's presence adds a definite weight to proceedings, having a CV touting collaborations with such luminaries as Derek Bailey and Evan Parker. As may be expected Day's firework percussion is impressive throughout. The rest of the band can hold their own though, especially the muscular saxophone playing that is equally capable of picking its way through more intricate patterns.
Exegetes of Riot appears to the group's first, independently-released full length album and is easily available from the band's Bandcamp page. Its baffling title, which sent me scurrying to my dictionary, seems quite apt if we're talking exegesis in a religious sense. The venerable discipline of improvised music has, in recent decades, splintered off into its own warring sects praising holy texts of ultraminimalism and lowercase. This from a musical style that, in theory, is the free expression of any of an infinite number of musical ideas. Fingerhut do not strike me as a group to subscribe to one particular doctrine, instead the core of their riot is a central juxtaposition that pits electroacoustic free jazz against a somewhat post-rock back line. One need only compare the cyclical riffs and hazy wah-guitar of Chilpancingo to the glitchy assault of neighbouring track Sidi Bouzid to appreciate this central dynamic.
It's not just between tracks that this conflict can be felt. On the few tracks which feature the group as a whole the music finds itself pulling between rhythmic grooves, abstract electronic soundscapes and atonal melodies. All of this achieves an uninhibited swagger and a charming "Let's just see where it goes" attitude. This can be felt especially on closer Hackney where an almost prog-rock like opening salvo is dissolved by an eerie-electronic wail. Later on in the same track I find myself practically head-banging away as the band reach maximum freak-out only for the rug to be pulled dramatically from underneath me as we tumble into an alien sea of electronics and threatening staccato guitar. This is then followed by a riff one could actually dance to! When the band achieve the right balance of these discordant stylistic elements the effect is sumptuous. True body and brain music. However, this effect is often quite fleeting, perhaps an indication that the band are still establishing themselves but is probably more to do with the ephemeral nature of such music.
It is somewhat surprising that the band performs as a whole on only a couple of tracks. Instead the majority of the album is made of different permutations of performers whose performances are a lot more consistent stylistically. This, combined with the lengths of some tracks, gives the album the impression of a highly detailed sketchbook rather than a completed, singular artwork. That is not intended as criticism although some of the tracks do feel as if they are lacking the presence of the rest of the band either to fill out the sonic space or to contribute to some of the musical ideas. That being said stand-out track Marikana is performed by one of these reduced ensembles. It's a duo but between what it's actually quite difficult to say. We have sax and some wheezing monstrosity. This ambiguity of the sound source makes the track intriguing but it's the interplay between, what I'm guessing is a processed reed instrument, and it's flesh-and-brass counterpart that elevates this performance. What results is a dynamic and humourous dialogue between the acoustic and electronic worlds.
I've always imagined that arriving at a satisfying ending is perhaps the most difficult thing to achieve in improvised music. Somewhat disappointingly, Fingerhut get out of this problem by fading out a couple of tracks, teasing us somewhat as the music continues into silence. This is most prominent on Goiânia where a blasted soundscape of bleak, washed-out electronics and the animalistic skiterrings of Day's percussion produce one of the most timbrally intriguing tracks on the album. But its barely 4 minute runtime fades into silence before its ideas can be fully explored. Perhaps, with these (seeming) edits the band are attempting to avoid any accusations of onanism. However, the track times probably would accommodate a more mainstream audience who perhaps aren't used to half-hour long jams. Maybe I'm just a purist. Throughout the album Fingurhut bombard us with ideas and I believe at times they should allow themselves the time to linger on them for a while, whether it be atonal squall or distorted bass groove.
In summary this is a very enjoyable record that was obviously a lot of fun to make. The band are mining the hinterland between abstract electronics, free rock and more traditional improv and have plucked out a few gems in doing so.
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