This new Henry Kaiser project is full of music that's both sublime and jarring. En Las Montanas de Excesos, out on Friday via Self Sabotage Records, is the sort of thing that straddles a few genres with the sort of bravery that far too few players attempt these days.
The players here -- Chris Cogburn (drums), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (electric bass), Bob Hoffnar (pedal steel guitar), and Henry Kaiser (electric guitar) -- attack these 4 long tracks with gusto, with even a shorter number like "The Shadow Over Overkill" seeing Kaiser run up and down the neck of his guitar like some odd combination of Fripp and Vai, the rhythm section pulsing behind him. Elsewhere, the epic "The Luxuriance Horror" spools out over the course of 22 minutes, quiet sections alternating with thunderous drum-rolls, and throbbing bass-runs, and throughout Kaiser's absurdly-supple guitar-work. The slightly-shorter "The Dream Quest of the Unknown Plethora" sees these 4 players ride the swells and crests of the fusion-y number with a real fearlessness.
En Las Montanas de Excesos, out on Friday via Self Sabotage Records, is the sort of record that deserves attention from astute listeners, the work of Henry Kaiser here alone something marvelous and consistently-inventive.
Chris Cogburn / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten / Bob Hoffnar / Henry Kaiser "En Las Montañas de Excesos"