Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
(Pi)
Ribot's latest project — well, #one# of his latest projects — is a trio with drummer Ches Smith and bass player Shahzad Ismaily. Punkish immediacy, jazz improvisation, electronic hijinks, experimental pop, casual vocals, and beat poetry are just some of the elements that fuel this somehow aptly-named outfit. (Ribot's no stranger to idiosyncratic band names, two others being The Rootless Cosmopolitans and Los Cubans Postizos.)
Clocking in at nearly seventy minutes, this disc revels in the breadth of the players' interests and inclinations. Opening with a fractured and potent take on the Doors’ “Break On Through,” there are forays into everything from quietly warped exotica ("Bateau") to King Crimson-like heady power trio explorations ("Midost"). Not only is Ceramic Dog's reach broad, but the album as a whole is sequenced so that one piece rolling into another, often with surprising jolts.
Standout Tracks: "Break On Through," "For Malena" DAVID GREENBERGER
