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Electric Kompany — Electric Kompany
((Not on label) no#, 2007, CD)

by Paul Hightower, Published 2008-01-01

Electric Kompany Cover art

There are plenty of new bands to check out these days, though there haven’t been many notable American bands in a while. These guys change all that. Electric Kompany hails from New York and each member (Alex Walker: bass, Sean McDaniel: drums, James Johnston: keys, and Kevin Gallagher: guitar) possesses impressive credentials and pedigrees. All are trained and have been working professionally in the NYC area prior to joining forces for this, their debut. These guys are on a mission. No really, they actually have a mission statement, which you can check out on their web site (www.electrickompany.com [now defunct]). They take the modern classical ensemble as their model, something like Kronos Quartet, but with a four-piece rock lineup. Like Kronos they also commission pieces for live performance and recording, though again with a twist. The musical idiom these guys embrace is pure prog rock. The references include Frank Zappa, The Tubes, Djam Karet, Nick Didkovsky, and others of the New York avant-rock scene. The seven songs include straight ahead prog (“Broken Glass,” “ZRM”), Zappa-inspired funk rock (“Grab,” which includes hilarious urban / rapper spoken word sampling), and atonal, Heldon-ish chamber prog featuring wrenching, distorted guitar (“Burn”). With so many influences, and with that much talent, there aren’t any limits to what these guys can do and it’s refreshing to see modern prog rock that actually pushes into new territory. This is a terrific album and sure to gain appreciation from music fans no matter what their personal tastes may be. Highly recommended.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 35, 2007 releases

Related artist(s): Electric Kompany

 

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