Recorded during a stop in
Arcado
's 1990 tour,
Behind the Myth
finds the band playing
chamber music
with a
jazz
musician's imagination. The band can hop around like
Christian Marclay
but without the turntables and trading
Marclay
's love of chance for all three members' love of intricate composition. This isn't really difficult music -- the tunes are often lyrical and heartwarming -- but it is an album that demands full attention to work at all. You can't "sort of" listen to a
Chomsky
lecture and get anything out of it; same with
. Unlike
, this trio does have a sense of flair. At one point
Dresser
's cello sounds like the deep blue sea with
Feldman
and
Roberts
acting as speedboats skipping across it. Five minutes into the searching
"Ediface,"
lays down one the oddest and most minimal of basslines while the rest of the all-string band cry out like
the Kronos Quartet
tripping down the stairs. In the last minutes the track turns
Stravinsky
, then swiftly ends on a
Prokofiev
note. Elsewhere
hold the tune, allowing
to add the filigree.
is filled with intriguing musical surprises and enough substance to make it worthy of repeat listening. ~ David Jeffries