Polar Shift

VIOLIN BASED ROCK. Mostly hard, fast, rock-inspired compositions done by a power trio of violin, cello, drums. Presto & fortissimo most of the way. Two brothers play the strings. (Both are on the recent CD by Foxtail Brigade.) Unlike other fiddle music, this isn’t country (though #7 is country-ish), nor Classical (though #10 is), nor jazz (though #14 has a hint of that too.) Hard to classify, but if you like the jazz-rock fusion of Jean-Luc Ponty or the eclectic instrumentals of Bela Fleck, you might like this.

All instrumental. No FCC issues.

1 Very fast. Jaunty tune on violin; 1/16-note continuo on cello; steady cadence on the snare. (1:32)
2 * Fast. More interesting & varied than #1. Complex syncopated drumming. (3:40)
3 Alternating slow & fast. Some flashy passages but somewhat disjoint as a whole. (1:48)
4 ** Slow. Loud distorted Jack-White-ish (imagine “Icky Thump” on violin) intro to track #5. (0:34)
5 ** Very fast. Loud, forceful heavy metal on strings. Gets better & better as it goes. (1:56)
6 Fast & loud. Showpiece for the drummer who plays every bit of his kit. (3:40)
7 * Very fast. Faux country: like dueling banjos between violin & cello. Country riff on drums. (2:55)
8 Alternating fast/loud with softer, lyric (though not especially pretty) sections. (2:55)
9 Fast. Cello very prominent. Violin plays a lyrical, descant melody up above. (3:00)
10 Slow. Graceful, Baroque-style chamber-music piece. Just violin & cello, no drums. (1:29)
11 Very fast. More melodic than most pieces. Excellent drumming. (3:55)
12 Slow. Mysterious & dreamlike, with a steady, hypnotic beat. (3:41)
13 * Fast. Very energetic. Hard-rock video-game theme music. (3:37)
14 * Mid-tempo. Groovy lil repeated riff on cello; improv on violin; relatively less drumming. (4:27)