Label: Pi Recordings, 2020

Personnel - Matt Mitchell: piano, Prophet-6; Craig Taborn: piano, Fender Rhodes, synth; Ben Monder: guitar; Trevor Dunn: electric bass; Dan Weiss: drums, tabla, piano.

Accomplished drummer Dan Weiss quickly gained notoriety among fellow colleagues due to a tremendous versatility, musical taste and advanced technique. The second installment of his Starebaby project - an idiosyncratic blend of David Lynch’s Twin Peak’s mystery and progressive metal with suggestions of post-apocalyptic electronica - is called Natural Selection, and its tracks are deeply connected to the ones presented in the previous album by acting as tulpas (beings or objects created through spiritual or mental powers).

As an illustration, “Episode 18”, which kicks in with fast guitar licks on top a rugged texture, is a tulpa of “Episode 8”. During the start-up phase, we have abrasive surfaces that later morph into more melodic and atmospheric passages conducted by expressive cymbal texture. Some psychedelia pops up, emanated from the synths operated by Craig Taborn and Matt Mitchell. And then, there's an arcane, gothic-style doom-metal aesthetic anticipating the visceral mass of distortion and feedback placed atop the fast attacks and booming bass lines delivered by Weiss and Trevor Dunn, respectively. Virtuoso guitarist Ben Monder oozes out a violently toxic solo by the end.

A change of mood is proposed with “Dawn”, whose languid beat and folk innuendo allow the group to set one foot on the contemporary and another on the medieval milieus. Things are muscled up a bit from the tune’s midpoint on, yet, Monder opts to set an ethereal lyricism against the cyclic harmonic progression that moves toward the ending.

“The Long Diagonal” offers rhythmic stability but only after a sluggish guitar ostinato collides with a more expedite synth figure. The keyboardist continues to connect that ostinato, yet a Latin-flavored vibe soon exudes from his right-hand routines. Ratcheting up the intensity level, Weiss brings the talkative drums to the fore, while the odd-metered prog-rock mechanisms trigger guitar spasms and then an extraordinary piano solo that, most likely, is the closest to jazz you can get on this album (“Acinna” is another competitor in this aspect). “A Taste of Memory” has its meditative intro built with the help of piano and sustained synth chords. Dark and heavy textures erupt, but the keyboardist still finds room for his perpetual rumination.

The drummer's kinetic propulsions on “Bridge of Trust” would pass for a samba if it weren’t for the dismal harmonies and foreboding melodies that run across them.

With this project, Weiss has the willingness to evoke, but also to experiment in dazzling fashion. One must admit they do it wholeheartedly.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - The Long Diagonal ► 04 - A Taste of Memory ► 07 - Acinna

Label: Pi Recordings, 2018

Personnel - Craig Taborn: keyboards, piano; Matt Mitchell: keyboards, piano; Ben Monder: guitar; Trevor Dunn: bass; Dan Weiss: drums.

Those who are familiar with the work of American drummer Dan Weiss, a praised bandleader and sought-after sideman, will agree that openness, big ears, and versatility are vital elements of his business.

His new album, Starebaby, it’s an unheard blend of heavy metal, electronic inspirations, Twin Peaks eerie moods, and a dash of jazz. The outcome is an unparalleled dark symphony filled with both mercurial meters and ethereal passages. The orchestration was made with ubiquitous presences in the New York jazz scene such as keyboardists Craig Taborn and Matt Mitchell, guitarist Ben Monder, and bassist Trevor Dunn, who, sharing the same taste of rugged sounds, captured Weiss’ compositional spirit with attitude, turning possible a project that was envisioned ten years ago.

The opening track, “A Puncher’s Chance”, starts off with electro-acoustic guitar sounds in a sheer classical moment, but soon bursts into a powerful alternative rock mode created by dirty keyboard sounds, well-fixed bass notes, and powerful drumming. After a middle passage designed for dreamlike piano and wrapped in a smoky effect, the band reinstates that monolithic riff over a gush of energetic rock.

“Depredation” kicks off with a dragging pulse, sustained synth chords, agitated guitar, and sparse bass activity. It mutates to a vehement synth-metal intoxicated by trashy power chords, trance-like electronic vibes, and a scalding guitar solo that causes trepidation.

The quintet plunges into reflectiveness on “The Memory of My Memory”, but that initially gracious if mysterious state morphs into a snarling toil firmly planted in doom metal. Weiss’ dried spanks on snare and tom-toms grow in fierceness and the tenebrous atmosphere, somewhere between Anathema and Paradise Lost, also encapsulates Monder’s brief solo.

Both “Annica” and “Cry Box” expose piano in their introductory sections. Even non-aggressive, the former brings uneasiness and causes foreboding apprehension through the fatalism of its somber shadows, reminiscing the ways of My Dying Bride. On the latter, the band builds multiple textures with a forthright sense of tempo and attention to detail, passing through a grungy tunnel with electro melodies before achieving peace.

A tribute to the American composer of Twin Peaks, “Badalamenti” has a fluid bass-drums flow underpinning ethereal harmonic incursions and Monder’s heroic guitar mobilizations. Alone, the bandleader packs glorious chops, preparing a virile, odd-metered rock passage that would be an asset in any of David Lynch’s inscrutable thriller films. It all winds up in the contrapuntal electronic wizardry of Taborn and Mitchell.

The influence of contemporary electronic music is particularly strong on “Veiled”, a polyrhythmic epiphany with dramatic piano and shades of Karlheinz Stockhausen, and “Episode 8”, a shape-shifting phenomenon with vivid drumming, whose humoresque trance house melodies oppose to the austerity of a metal that wouldn't embarrass Black Sabbath.

Starebaby proves Weiss as a boundless drummer and unlimited composer. Whether a singular case or not, this 360-degree turn in his career will be a challenge for jazz fans. Love it or hate it, you'll find multiple transfusions of energy invading your body.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - A Puncher’s Chance ► 03 – Annica ► 06 – The Memory of My Memory