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 Awkward Star: Blue Straggler 

Awkward Star's Blue Straggler is an interesting mix of rock, avant-garde jazz-fusion, and spoken word poetry centered on Rik Wright's moody, shifting guitar improvisations and Greta Nintzel's beautifully dramatic voice. The key component of the group dynamic is a commitment to using improvisation in creating atmosphere. As the atmosphere created in the songs is often dreamy, shifting, and ethereal, comparisons to such trip-hop heavies as Portishead are obligatory and definitely warranted; yet Awkward Star's forays into instrumental jazz-based territory make them far more interesting.

Tracks such as "10 of Diamonds," with Nintzel 's layered mix of spoken word and singing and a hypnotic chorus, and "Pausing Song," which is oddly reminiscent of System of a Down in a good way, will especially appeal to fans of dark, moody trip-hop. However, in their best songs, the focus is placed upon the entire band in creating textures and specifically, the rhythm section of Randy Doak and Mische Eddins. In songs such as "B36," "Anything that Moves," and "Dreamy Red Leatherette," the drums in particular are not used so much to propel rhythm as they are to add texture and create unique sounds. Rapid cymbal crashes resonate loudly before periods of silence, interspersed with ringing chimes or other hand percussion, soft snare beats, and other unconventional displays of rhythm that spring directly from the world of avant-garde jazz. Meanwhile, the bass is constantly exploring new and interesting grooves and punctuating the bursts of noise with volleys of its own. "Dreamy Red Leatherette" is an excellent example, as it starts with the drums, guitar, and bass slowly taking playing off one another, gradually building in intensity, until finally the group explodes in a cacophony of arrhythmic noise before quickly transforming into a fast, intense groove fueled by a driving bass line. Eventually the energy is spent, and the song settles back into an exploratory, moody guitar solo that segues beautifully into the following song. However, these forays into the world of experimental jazz are always brought back to a trance-rock groove before they plunge into the free-rhythm netherworld that the genre's avatars thrive on, but which would no doubt confuse and/or alienate more mainstream listeners. Such less adventurous people would find ample solace in the siren-ish guitar effects of "Buzz, Hello?" that eventually morph into an aggressive, distorted guitar groove. Wright's guitar takes on qualities of a human voice, often posing and then answering musical questions. It is sometimes shimmery, sometimes scratchy, sometimes dripping with effects, but always creating free-form walls of sound.

Overall, there is nothing ground-breaking on this record; bands such as Soul Coughing have mined this territory before. Rather, Blue Straggler is an interesting blend of influences from several different genres, and more importantly, it is a strong indication of how good musicianship and an improvisatory attitude can produce dynamic music worth seeking out.

This album can be purchased at Insound, Amazon and CD Universe

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