Label: Self released, 2020
Personnel - Erik Friedlander: cello; Ava Mendoza: guitar; Diego Espinosa: drums, percussion.
American cellist Erik Friedlander, a key figure in the New York’s Downtown scene for years, showcases his rich tones on a program where he puts an eclectic, contemporary spin on eight original compositions. Admirably assisted by the intense slabs of Ava Mendoza’s electric guitar, and the rhythmic sensibility of Mexican multi-percussionist Diego Espinosa, Friedlander managed to confer an unexpected dimension to the music. Although the members of Sentinel had never played together before, the results are at once fascinating and provocative, corroborating the bandleader’s description of the project as a ‘garage band for 2020’.
“Flash” opens the album by carrying an ostinato at its core and providing an eventful narrative mastered with thrilling edginess, powerful energy and epic contours. Subtly, the bandleader gives the listener a sense of his jazz and classical perceptions, and the elements drawn from these scopes are gracefully torqued by the liberating indie-rock muscularity of Mendoza’s distortion.
At the start, “Glow” is streamlined by chimes, jazz guitar chords with colorful extensions, and cello cries. The theme, leaning on the pop/rock genre, shapes up into a strange waltz with worthy spots for the individual creativity of the threesome.
The relaxing Americana on “Feeling You” also suggests a good-natured pop-ish feel during the proceedings. Agility, punctuation and intension come from Friedlander’s down-to-earth plucking technique, with the trio seeking to create some more frisson at a later stage through expressive rhythmic nuances that anticipate the conclusion.
Offering more than sharp concord and synchronicity, “Foozle” makes our hearts pound faster through a heavy, polyrhythmic fusion marked by robustness and elasticity. The energy of rock from the 1970s is not surprising here, if we take into account the admiration that Friedlander nurtures for the music of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Yes, as well as the electrifying deconstructions and experimentalism that Mendoza vouches for.
The languid “Ripleyisms” verges on the blues rock, whereas “Awake”, also unhurried yet a bit more interesting in terms of tone and ambiance, places a catchy, grungy ostinato at the center. From here, a diligent workout defines the harmony and strides alongside the pulse.
The aching lyricism and gripping cadences of the cello combine with the off-center rebelliousness of the guitar and the rhythmic pulsation of the drums to deliver structurally simple and technically superb musical moments. The quality of sound is equally remarkable.
Grade A-
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Flash ► 02 - Glow ► 07 - Awake