Kayo Dot - Hubardo ALBUM REVIEW
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- čas přidán 4. 09. 2024
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After ten years of being a band, Kayo Dot releases what might be its gaudiest album. However, I can't help but be enamored with the strong playing, ambitious concept, and impressive mix of influences most of the time.
What did you think of this album? Love it? Hate it? Why? What should I review next, eh?
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FAV TRACKS: CROWN-IN-THE-MUCK, ZIDA CAOSGI, THE FIRST MATTER, FLOODGATE, AND HE BUILT HIM A BOAT, PASSING THE RIVER
LEAST FAV TRACK: THE BLACK STONE
KAYO DOT - HUBARDO / ICE LEVEL / 2013 / AVANT-GARDE METAL, PROGRESSIVE ROCK, PROGRESSIVE METAL, JAZZ FUSION, CHAMBER MUSIC, DEATH METAL, POST-ROCK, BLACK METAL, SLIGHTLY IMPROVISED NIGHTMARES, EPIC POET STORIES
7/10
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?
SHOUTOUTS!
THANKS TO ze perreira FOR THE CAL DRAWING!
New Maker Music music vid review show: • Video
Would be cool if Anthony reviewed a Maudlin album in maybe a classics week.. :)
I concur 100%
However, since we're on about progressive music, he hasn't reviewed the new cynic album yet!
Still waiting...
Yea, or first kayo dot album
Still waiting...
Or Choirs of the Eye
I hope he reviews the latest Kayo Dot album, Blasphemy, regardless of the fact that Kayo Dot's obscurity means it's not going to get many views. Toby has continued to be on a roll this late into his career. Between last year and this year he released a solo album "They Are the Shield" which was received incredibly well, started a new IDM project called Piggy Black Cross which is really cool, and now the latest album "Blasphemy" which I feel has more in common with Hubardo than it does the last two albums.
Choirs Of The Eye is an astounding masterpiece.
I really didn't like Coyote when it was released. Then I saw Kayo Dot perform it live, and my brain exploded. It's now my favorite album by them, it's probably the album I find the creepiest and most emotional of all their releases.
Hubardo was wayyyyyy more of everything than I was expecting. Usually it takes me a while to disambiguate songs on a Kayo Dot album but each song on this one has its own identity that is easy to pick out after just a couple of listens. Fucking love it.
I'm not even sure if you listened to what I was saying. I clearly said that there were established chord progressions and melodies, but there was a sense of intensity, looseness, reaction that felt very free and in-the-moment.
coyote is their best album you goof
I see the explosive darkness of Floodgate as foreshadowing of how this discovery will end for the poet. Almost like this is the bad gut feeling he has but doesn't know why.
Regarding Floodgate: In my opinion, on this whole album the music really tries to magnify the feelings portrayed with the lyrics. So I think it would be pretty jarring if one day you planted a seed and the next thing you know there's an age-old river in its place. I think that the intensity and chaotic nature of the song is in line with that feeling. The song might be a little exaggerated, but I think it's commensurate with the way the music has expressed the story on the album as a whole.
Toby is a composition/music theory student. And I believe, while some of the compositions may have been improvised in the moment (as far as the EXACT notes are concerned), the way they are executed, and the overall structure (chord progressions, counterpoint, direction) of the pieces were definitely thought out meticulously. As far as the solos in the last track, I'm almost 100% sure that was improvised. I have seen sheet music for a couple tracks, VAtAW being one. I'll share if i find again
Do you still have the sheet music?
9:03 its ironic that the new song Kayo Dot introduced, Library Subterranean,has the vocals so far in front that I feel like Toby Driver is in my skull. In a good way though, the new song fucking rocks.
The intro DOES sound like a group of musicians playing off of one another live in the moment, but I believe it is MEANT to sound that way, very deliberately in fact, to the point that every note you hear was planned. I suppose you think that Bartok's string quartets are just four musicians playing with one another in the moment, when anytime there are four musicians playing any of Bartok's string quartet's they ARE doing just that. Only they are playing something that was written.
With all do respect, I think you need to listen to The Wait Of The World a few more times before you write it off, I had the same feeling about it at first, but now I think it is the perfect closing for this album.
coyote is a haunting masterpiece
Totally! I hated it when I first heard it, it took a year for me to get into it, but now it's one of my favorite KD/Toby Driver records
Absolutely. I recognize that it's a tough one to crack, though.
it's their best album
I thought this was album of the year for me. It hit a stride with the crafting of music that I thought I would never hear. It fuses a lot of romanticism with very complex and thick, heavy writing - and does so in a way that flows, not without issues, but it flows. It's a good direction I think.
I did listen to the album. You mad? I have listened to it at least 7 or 8 times now. I don't think it would be that hard for someone to notate this in sheet music, seeing as there are things like Hans Werner Henze's Royal Winter Music notated in sheet music, or how Krzysztof Penderecki's stuff is written. I think the reason this stuff sounds so "nutty" is because it is written. At this point, I do take what Toby says as gospel.
I'm so glad you listen to Kayo Dot and maudlin of the Well, Choirs of the Eye is my all-time favourite album.
When you say that he left some of what happens on the LP up to chance, saying that it is clear that there is free improvisation, I believe you are wrong. I've read in several interviews that they don't improvise and are in fact against improvising, Toby and company write these songs exactly how you hear them. That to me is really impressive. That they meticulously rehearse these super complex pieces and they are constructed this way. Album deserves a 10/10.
My group is opening for these guys on the 20th... Pretty stoked.
Just now hearing this album for the first time, what a fucking trip. Passing the river is a sonic panic attack
Maudlin of the Well is fucking amazing. The fact that they released Bath and Leaving Your Body Map in the same year is ridiculous.
Damn, i'd love to hear what you have to say about California, maybe Disco Volante even more so.
I've been a fan of Toby Driver for a long time now. So I want to say ArmedRobbery is wrong in his assessment, but if I'm honest with myself I can't say I'm not disappointed with the recent direction he's decided to take with Kayo Dot. They were really going somewhere with Coyote and especially Stained Glass--two of the most gorgeous, sophisticated, mature KD releases yet--and I fully expected the album after that to be an expasion that chamber-esque sound, which they've always executed with uniqueness and grace. Then Gamma Knife comes along, and, granted, I was excited to hear Toby delve into metal again, but my hope was that it was a temporary diversion and not a permanent shift. Then Hubardo drops; we were promised a more well-produced, fleshed-out Gamma Knife (which admittedly would have been cool) and a retrospective on the last decade of Kayo Dot. Didn't happen; Hubardo is a poorly-articulated mish-mash of half-baked ideas and musical cliches that KD rejected long ago but for some reason thought fit to revive for what was to be their magnum opus. Hubardo just feels like a step backwards. My guess is that, at least in part, Toby's recent musical output has been a reaction to the drastic line-up changes Kayo Dot has experienced the last few years, what with losing long-time member Mia and bringing in musicians from mostly jazz and metal backgrounds. Toby said he's always worked Kayo Dot's compositions around the musicians he plays with. Well, Ichneumonidae is still a thing apparently, and the previews sound promising, so here's hoping that that project delivers.
I know exactly what you should review next: Caravan Palace's Panic and Goldfish's album Get Busy Living, Perceptions of Pasha, and Caught in the loop.
Caravan Palace is a French electroswing band that is just amazing to listen to, especially live. Their studio music is good but it can sound flat but live, they are AMAZING!! (I saw them at the 9:30 Club in DC)
Goldfish is also electroswing but from South Africa and they have jazz with many African influences.
Thanks for reviewing Hubardo, Anthony! It'll certainly help to get the musical mastermind of Toby Driver and co. to a greater audience: )
What else is neat about Goldfish is that as you listen to heir discography you can hear them progress from Jazz with a some electro gradually to electro with some jazz.
Look up:
Clash or from Caravan Palace to get a feel for their sound
and try Crunchy Joe from Goldfish, this song isn't their entire sound but it's an example of their newer, more electro music. (for their older stuff look up egyptology or 4:45 blues)
you may be lost
I find it hard to believe that the guitar solo in question is notated somewhere on sheet music or something. You should listen to the music instead of reading interviews and you'd probably get more out of it. Try defending that 10/10 now, please; because your statement really had nothing to do with it.
I'm obsessed with this album at the moment. I think it is their strongest release since Choirs and I'm so glad to hear some motW influence.
Can you please review Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein.
Did you actually listen to the album? Does the intro NOT sound like a group of musicians playing off one another live in the moment? You're telling me me every disgruntled guitar strum on that track was PLANNED? What about the nutty solos at the end of the final track? Dude, do you take everything that comes out of Toby's mouth as gospel? I agree there must be some sense of direction and planning to every song, but you can't meticulously the wild sensations some of these instrumentals create.
"do you take everything that comes out of Toby's mouth as gospel?" they're all zombies dude its ridiculous
I saw kayo dot in Winsted Connecticut when I was in high school at some soccer dome I was on mushrooms and when they all left their instruments one by one to drum on a keg to the song it was an amazing experience. Something tribal and beautiful
That being said, I love this album. 8.5/10 more me, and growing. I really think this is one of those "grower" albums
I heard what you said just fine. You said, beginning at 3:13, "even though I think he really kind of left some of what happens on this LP up to chance, maybe just really up to pure improvisation, that much is clear..." You didn't say that it was a sense of what they were doing you said it IS what they are doing, at least that's what I got out of "that much is clear." What they are doing is writing things that have a sense of free-improv, but it's written none the less.
Anthony! Check out these releases, Haapoja - S/T.."Blackend Hardcore"(Deathspell quirk vibes fused w/ punchy hardcore).. And, miRthkon - Snack(s).. RIO/Advant Prog Jazz etc etc.( Mr.Bungle meets 5uu's).. Both streaming at Bandcamp.. Interested in hearing your thoughts buddy..
By the way, if any of you enjoy Hubardo, do yourself a favour and listen to their debut Choirs Of The Eye. Every Toby Driver release requires multiple, multiple listens to fully digest, but they are some of the most rewarding albums you will ever experience, Choirs Of The Eye being the most rewarding.
how about a review of "taedium vitae" by centuries? might be right up your alley!
Make sure you review Touché Amoré's Is Survived By when it comes out.
I see what you mean, although i did love Coyote the first time i heard it; BLD was the one that took the longest time to grow on me. Coyote felt more immediate than that record, although in a very dense and unnerving way. Then again it's a record about coming to terms with death, so being dense and unnerving suits it very well. Maybe i'm just a macabre dude, but i immediately liked that :P
Odd how almost everyone reviewing Hubardo mentions they disliked Coyote, because i really enjoyed that record. As for Hubardo, this might be the best thing they've done in a decade... i need to hear it a few more times to be sure, but so far i'm impressed.
try "Ascendere" by Aesthesys - it's post-rock, but a few tunes are quite alright. and the artwork kicks asses (and the best part - they offer it all for free)
Saw these guys in Miami about a month back, they put on a pretty awesome show.
ahh I will have to check this album out, sounds pretty interesting! also I assume you are going to review it and have listened to it, but that new Sebadoh album, i am very interested to hear your thoughts on that.
Congrats on over 1,000 videos!
You can listen it in his bandcamp.
I just had a thought... maybe you can review the people that wholeheartedly love a band like Kayo dot or some of these other peculiar groups.
I predict that Anthony will give, Flatbush Zombies, a light to decent 6. I'm personally feelin' a light n9 tho.
Hey Wise Up Ghost just came out!! Roots and Elvis Costello!
Why did you say The Wait of the World is a jazz fusion instrumental? It's got vocals, mang. Seems like you didn't hear it past the 9 minute mark.
Drake and Kings of Leon Antony! pleaseeee.. they are both massive releases. And Drakes album is arguably one of (if not the) most anticipated album of the year :)
I think Subsume by Cloudkicker deserves review. He's a very diverse and, I think, original artist.
Review "Mechanical Bull" by Kings of Leon please. It's maybe not that great but it's better than there last 2 albums and I want to know what you think of it.
BALANCE AND COMPOSURE - THE THINGS WE THINK WE'RE MISSING
PLEASE
I strongly disagree with the statement that the break in 'Vision Adjustment to Another Wavelength' sounds tongue-in-cheek.
I'm not a fan of the Mr. Bungle-esque shifts of style either, but I think it's somewhat premature to label them as "ironic." I can totally see where you're coming from with that, but as somebody who's followed Toby Driver obsessively ever since I discovered Choirs of the Eye, I just don't see Toby going in that direction with his music, ever. His music has always carried a solemn and sincere mood. Still, the dramatic transitions are jarring, and probably my least favorite aspect of Hubardo.
This sounds intriguing, I might have to look further into this.
I want that Black Lips CD, DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!
blue lambency downward is nice.
Are you going to review The Darcys - Warring?
Touche Amore - Is Survived By
I have a feeling he is not going to review this one, he didn't enjoy their first mixtape so I don't see how he's going to all of a sudden enjoy their 2nd mixtape which is sonically similar.
You didn't post a video today.... how am I supposed to know what to think? :/
I 100% agree with you, Anthony.
That's my defense of my 10/10. Hubardo is one of the most, if not THE most, complex piece of music ever WRITTEN. I find it a LOT more unlikely that they were in the studio and the solo you speak of in the last track was just a whim one of the members was having. You should try reading interviews where Toby explains this instead of claiming that it's free improv just because that's what your INTUITION tells you.
Nothing was the same and mechanical bull tomorrow! pleaseeeee :)
I'd say go give Tengger Cavalry's The Expedition a look. Best folk-tinged black metal I've heard.
Palms-Self titled.
Where's the better off dead review!!!
kayo dot is amazing .
Jesu - Everyday I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came
Lay off the dude, at least he's giving Hubardo some publicity which it so deserves, yet it's not getting. Good review Anthony, I don't agree with everything you had to say, but just thanks for putting this band out there.
Review Buckethead's new albums... all 16,17 and counting.
Anthony, i mean seriously dude, if you think this is spam you are SO wrong my man. Awon & Phoniks - Return To The Golden Era, can't get enough of it.
Choirs of the Eye is a strong 9 near 10
Gamma Knife is a decent 8
Coyote is also a decent 8
I tried to like choir of eyes, but I still don't after 5 listens
@@wp6007 i tried and this album change my life
Please review "Jeremiah Cymerman - Sky Burial". You should give it a listen. A think you'll like it. It's done by one of kayo dot's members. Great electroacustic music! ;-)
Where is FLATBUSH ZOMBIES - (Better Off Dead) Mixtape???
Please review
BILL CALAHAN - Dream River
NEKO CASE - The harder ...
MAZZY STAR - The, äh, the new album ...
He said he'll review it on twitter and he also liked the song "Bliss".
i'd really like to know your opinion on the fan-tas-tic albums by J Dillas original group Slum Village
Delorean - Apar
Please review the Naked and Famous In Rolling Waves
Do a review on Hawk House - A little more elbow room
Elvis Costello and the Roots?
Surgical Steel by Carcass, you know you want to
Just watched Fugazi's instrument doco, really cool
Review Fitz and the tantrums!
Intersections by Into It. Over It. PLEASE MAN!
I like that word (multiinstrumentalist)
Please review Balance And Composure or the new Stray From the Path album thanks in advance
Haken - Aquarius...its quite unique
Please review Bill Callahan's new
have you heard the new Touche Amore yet?
Review Synch Sampler by Amon Tobin and Two Fingers!
Can you review Have Mercy - The Earth Pushed Back ?
volcano choir please
Review Polyenso-One Big Particular Loop
Oh thats a very nice review! Thank you!
Can you review the new Naked and Famous album In Rolling Waves
My statement didn't have too much to do with the LP. It had to do with you stating something that I believe is false. And it stated that I give it a 10/10 and it deserves at 10/10.
pelican forever becoming pls
SubRosa - More Constant Than the Gods
you should review birds and buildings - multipurpose trap, for some cool newer prog
I second this motion.
...even if it's not the most recent release.