(Marco Benevento – piano/Mellotron/circuit bent toys/keyboards; Reed Mathis – doublebass; Matt Chamberlain or Andrew Barr – drums)
I first thought this was just yet another jazz piano trio CD. I was wrong. It’s a very creative electronics-oriented album with some but not all jazz chops. All eight tracks are originals by Benevento and he was also the producer of the album. There’s a good deal of variety amongst the tracks, and I never got the feeling Benevento was just playing around with weird sounds – each tune seems to have a form and function on its own. Always liked the sound of the Mellotron with the Moody Blues, and here it is again. I especially liked The Real Morning Party, which reminded me of The Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Record Book starts off with a scratchy LP sound and then uses a clunk each rotation as the rhythmic element in the track. If You Keep On Asking Me begins with a backwards tape, then to a rhythm section ostinato over which is heard the electronically-modified piano.
TrackList: Bus Ride, Atari, The Real Morning Party, You Must Be a Lion, If You Keep Asking Me, Ruby, Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?
– John Henry
