18. Tartar Lamb – Sixty Metonymies (2007)
Here's a pop quiz question for everyone: what happens when Toby Driver, better known as the mastermind behind such acts as maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot, teams up with fellow Kayo Dot electric violinist Mia Matsumiya to shelve the metal tendencies and dive fully into that vast ocean known as classical music?
The answer to this question comes in the form of Tartar Lamb's
Sixty Metonymies, my favorite release from 2007 and among the most curious explorations into minimalism that's come out in over a decade. Violin, trumpet, guitar and drums work together, sometimes blatently but mostly in a darkling sort of quiet, to breathe a fresh yet stark creative approach into a sound that's been raped and murdered by dozens of post-rock bands over the last decade. Jazzily arranged in tracks ranging from less than 4 minutes to over 16 minutes and occasionally touched by other elements that go beyond expectations, I've found that I've enjoyed spinning this just as often as
Bath,
Choirs of the Eye, etc. Like much of what Driver works on, it bears the unmistakeable stamp of someone who lets a note or two speaks for itself rather than always forcing an orchestra or walls of noise down your ear canals to get a point across.
So my affections aside - for those of you into post-rock and modern day classical music, or simply for those who enjoy some the quieter classical/jazz moments in whatever motW or Kayo Dot albums you own, this is an essential.
Track Highlights:
Trumpet Twine the Lamb Unhyne