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Abacaxi — Quetzal
(Bandcamp Carton Records CROIX-31, 2024, LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-07-02

Quetzal Cover art

In the last 20 or so years, I’ve noticed a trend that spans multiple musical genres. In both electronic music and in math-rock, varieties of music that rely heavily on rhythmic complexity, there is often no attempt to include any melodic material. You find this in a lot of the more hyperactive break-beat electronic music, as well as experimental stuff like Aphex Twin. And math-rock is full of trios of guitar, bass, and drums, where there are tricky rhythmic parts coordinated between the musicians, but no one is playing a melody (though the top line of the guitar chords forms a melody of sorts). Abacaxi’s Quetzal, in spite of the iconically Mexican name, is an album by a French band that crosses math rock with Aphex Twin style erratic stuttering sounds — all accomplished by the way they play and the use of effects pedals. I’m reminded of Alarm Will Sound’s Acoustica album, which rearranges Aphex Twin music for a live ensemble of acoustic instruments. Abacaxi is definitely electric, with a core of guitar, bass, and drums augmented with effects pedals and other devices — Julien Desprez (direction, guitar, light), Jean Francois Riffaud (bass, light), and Francesco Pastacaldi (drums, synthesizer, light) — I presume “light” refers to controlling some kind of visuals, but I couldn’t say for sure. In any case, the trio manages an impressive feat of coordination, rendering erratic rhythms into a constant flow on the opening track, “Licasso.” It’s more sparse than Yowie, but has the same kind of stuttering irregularity that defies forming into any kind of groove. Much of the rest of the album consists of the title suite, which does at times present a steady beat, though the guitar in particular avoids standard kinds of playing. Here I’m reminded of what Reeves Gabrels did on David Bowie’s Earthling, building riffs out of a combination of notes and effects. Riffaud’s bass parts are constructed along the same lines, though maybe a bit less obviously. The 18-minute suite is divided into seven tracks, though the music is continuous, and some of the sections abandon tempo and dissolve into noise or near-silence. The album finishes off with “Churros” (again with the Mexican references) and a shortened edit of “Licasso.” All in all, Abacaxi has a fascinating sound built from standard elements put together in very unusual ways, and is worth a listen for fans of math-rock and seekers of the unexpected.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Abacaxi

More info
http://cartonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/quetzal

 

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