CCXMD
Nefarious, 2019
8/10
Brooklyn is never short on unique sounds, but few are as unorthodox as Cinema Cinema. On this 5th album, the duo bring Matt Darriau on board for his skilled reed prowess on a fine example of controlled chaos as CCXMD dives headfirst into vibrant free jazz.
“Collective Outpoint” starts the album with a bizarre collision of horns and squealing art noise, before “Cyclops” follows with a hypnotic guitar line as jazz and art-punk meet in a very unusual setting that’s not short on grooves.
Elsewhere, “Colors” brings flutes and finds a calmer place to reside where space and tension are manipulated with cautious, quivering results, while “Radio Friendly” is certainly not destined for the FM dial with its crashing percussion and assault of art damaged punk frenzy.
At the end, the 13+ minutes of “Ode To A Gowanus Flower” buries some soothing qualities amid a busy display of Eastern ideas in its punk fueled experimentalism, and “Cloud 3” exits the listen with an ambient, psychedelic quality that simmers with a hazy, mildly bristling quality.
Certainly a very challenging listen, if you’re adventurous enough to devote the time, CCXMD is a thrilling, captivating and highly iconoclastic journey that will help expand anyone’s musical palette.
Travels well with: Sonic Youth- Daydream Nation; The Art Ensemble Of Chicago- Tutankhamun