Kayo Dot – “Coyote” – [TAIGA Records]

Mournful horns and strung-out violins cast a dismal
shadow over the beautiful sounds here. Interesting
for Taiga, often delivering isolated, wind-swept
soundscapes to pop out this 2010 release that has
vocals way up front on tracks that are effectively
ballads. Granted, intricate and evolving ballads.
Especially on the first side, kind of reminds me of
the excellent post-This Heat project Camberwell Now.
Where some folks may say “prog” I feel Toby Driver’s
compositions steer clear of flashy clashing time
signatures and wizardry for wizardry’s sake. The
drums mark time often in distant intervals, but can
suddenly erupt and take over. One constant is the
electric bass, wrapped in reverb and usually floated
on top of the songs, rather than supporting from the
bottom. Side B starts with an instrumental charger,
but heavy vocals return, heavy in voice and in
lyrics, which were derived from a story by the
young (and now sadly deceased) woman on seen above.
RIP Yuko Sueta. A somber yet ornate homage…
-Thurston Hunger