Killdeer
New Focus, 2023
8/10
The composer and performer Guy Barash brings along Nick Flynn and his poetry for this contemporary chamber listen that welcomes Frank London, Eyal Maoz and Kathleen Supové to the inimitable affair.
“The Space Between Silence And Enough” opens the listen with Barash’s glitchy delivery alongside London’s well timed trumpet and Maoz’s bouts of colorful guitar that helps texture the lead off with a playful charm, and “Confessional” follows with Flynn’s vivid storytelling amid much atmosphere and bits of rumbling piano from Supové.
“Jesus Knew” lands in the middle, where London’s bright trumpet suits the echoes and distorted climate, while “Saint Augustine” has the piano’s distinct tone complementing the dream context of Flynn’s texts.
Approaching the end, “I Will Destroy You” meshes the trumpet and piano in a haunting fashion that uses electronics strategically, and “Pied Piper” exits the listen and showcases firm keys, wild electric guitar and howling brass for an atypical groove glazed over Flynn’s poetry.
Barash’s electronic prowess is quite fascinating here, and the players on hand all contribute in unconventional ways, where Flynn’s spoken pieces might bring to mind Kurt Vonnegut, and I doubt anyone will have a problem with that.
Travels well with: Christopher Cerrone- The Air Suspended; Aaron Myers-Brooks- Oblique