Blue Noise Band
Multi-Purpose (Aerosol)
Chameleon-like in character, Austin’s Blue Noise Band skitters about from reference point to reference point, never quite letting you in on their overriding motive. Just when you think they’re about to pitch woo in the direction of the brunch crowd, this local avant-jazz quartet throws in some heinous kink that’s guaranteed to send migas down the wrong pipe. In spite of their dichotomous spaghetti bowl of tangents, the Blue Noise Band never fritters away the listener’s patience. “DBD” packs a tight, polyphonic groove that’s constantly being reshaped by David Lobel’s moody saxophone parts. The song title “Ricky Ricardo’s Balkan Dance Party” sums up well the bizarre-yet-workable confluence of sounds that might have occurred had Tito Puente been shipped behind the Iron Curtain as a young adult. “Soibois” is a fast and zany number that would work perfectly as the theme for an American adaptation of one of those sadistic Japanese game shows, while “Cookies” is a discordant incantation of John Zorn via “Peter Gunn” gone awry. Some may find this mishmash confounding, but the best joyrides are usually the ones where you don’t know where the hell you’re going.
This article appears in Carol Keeton Rylander.
