Danses
Circum-Disc, 2022
8/10
The duo of Ivann Cruz’s electric guitar and Frédéric L’Homme’s drums, as Otto the pair manipulate melody, harmony and rhythm with meticulous attention to detail.
“Prelude” opens the listen with very detailed guitar work alongside the agile drumming as the adventurousness glide with much warmth, and it isn’t long until the delicate, atmospheric “Gigue” pairs frisky drums with reflective guitar.
Further into the listen, “Allemande” thumps firmly amid the glorious guitar acrobatics, while “Chaconne” brings both tension and beauty into the album’s best with a shimmering post-rock slant that’s quite hypnotic.
Nearing the end, “Bourrée” builds into a rhythmically busy display of dynamic and very complicated drums and guitar, and a 2nd version of “Allemande” exits the listen with a skilled dreaminess that helps cultivate a very distinct harmonic appeal of classical nods.
A truly unique and fascinating listen, let’s hope the pair don’t stop collaborating anytime soon, cause their collective vision makes for an enlightening experience.
Travels well with: Peter Orins- VRTN & VBTRN; Adoct- Ouvre-Glace