Brovold, Bill And Larval / Surviving Death / Alive Why?
Album: Surviving Death / Alive Why?   Collection:General
Artist:Brovold, Bill And Larval   Added:Feb 2007
Label:Cuneiform Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2007-10-07 Pull Date: 2007-12-09
Week Ending: Dec 9 Nov 25 Nov 18 Oct 14
Airplays: 1 1 1 1

Recent Airplay
1. Dec 07, 2007: Memory Select
Last One To Leave
3. Nov 11, 2007: Rorschach's Dance
It Was A Puny Plan
2. Nov 23, 2007: Memory Select
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
4. Oct 08, 2007: I <3 Life and Yr Callous Neglect/Refusal
Crippled Dance

Album Review
Craig Matsumoto
Reviewed 2007-09-23
Prog: High-energy, with solid, infectious beats and a big sound. Insistent and sometimes harsh guitars, but there's also violin, sax ... a rotating cast of characters. Often in 4/4, in a psych-jam way, but with very much a modern prog attitude/energy, mostly bright and upbeat -- you get the sense that these are jazz guys just having some fun. There's also some crazed avant-garde skronk (either sax or guitar); no wonder John Zorn is a fan.

CAST:
Bill Brovold: Guitar, most of the songwriting
Colin Stetson, Jason Stein, John Evans, Luke McAuley, lotsa others: sax
Kurt Zimmerman: Violin
James Ilgenfritz III, others: Bass
Scott Olzak, Marko Smith, Ryan Kush: Drums
& others too numerous to list ...


DISK ONE
1- Gently fast 6/8 shuffle.
2- Catchy two-sax line, a strong midtempo beat. Some breezy guitar interludes.
3- Dramatic swirlings, with piano. Slowish, slightly heavy mood.
4- Really fast guitar scribbles underneath slow, regal prog chords. Takes a couple minutes for a blaring intro. Impressive but gets old after about the 7-minute mark.
5- Whoa: Romantic-classical piano. A serious, pretty piece.
6- Mid/fast, a bit sinister.
7- Quirky, quiet riffs; odd arpeggios. A small piece.
8- Psych attack, into midtempo prog with a straight 4/4 beat. Nice drive without going overboard. Second half gets into a nearly funky 7/8 beat, infectious.
9- Quiet guitar lines amid quietly bleating avant-garde sax. A sense of calm, with disorder in the background.

DISK TWO
1- Faux chamber music, into pulsing chunky guitars.
2- Easy loping feel, over tense violin riffs.
3- Shuffling biker-bar riff.
4- A bright pop-metal feel, mid/fast with saxes
5- Dark menace, mid/fast. Bit of an exotic jangle. Ends quiet.
6- Grinding one-chord vamp. Gets louder, more distrubed, blurry
7- Abrasive, dissonant, fast. Then a quiet guitar break
8- Big sax ensemble, gets anthemic. Slow, kind of pretty.
9- Evil circus/polka march, mid/fast.
10- An upbeat gloom? Creeping mid/fast goth feel.

Track Listing
1. Going Somewhere Else   10. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
2. It Was A Puny Plan   11. Childish Delusions
3. Scottish Blood   12. Last Ditch
4. Surviving Death   13. Alpha Thejone
5. Hospital Visit   14. Crippled Dance
6. 300-Pound Nurse   15. Guitar Trio
7. There's Something Under Her Bed   16. One Last Fight
8. Funk=Sex2   17. Long Lake
9. Last One To Leave   18. Half A Bubble Off Level
  19. Entity