Tuesday 20 December 2016

ALBUM REVIEW: Hifiklub vs. Fatso Jetson & Gary Arce - “Double Quartet Serie #01”

By: Victor Van Ommen

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 27/10/2016
Label: Subsound Records

From tantric grooves to a hypnotic thrust, this double quartet use these seven songs as a vehicle to celebrate artistic freedom. At times, the arrangements can get pretty chaotic, sometimes bordering on a wash of noise, but at others, the album sounds as full as it does sparse and as melodious as it does jarring.

“Double Quartet Serie #01” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. TENDERLOIN VIGNETTE
2. UN GRIBOUILLIS DE LA BEAUTè
3. GLORIOUS WHORES
4. BLACK WITHOUT WHITE
5. SAFE IN PIECES
6. A LA FIN JE L'ESPèRE CALME
7. THE ROCKY ROAD TO HOLINESS

The Review:

Let’s give this band Hifiklub vs. Fatso Jetson and Gary Arce a spin. Admittedly the band’s name is a little too cumbersome to fit neatly on a festival poster but this project will remain just that; a project. These guys don’t seem to have ambitions to branch out and take on the daily grind of being a band, so their name doesn’t really matter. In this case, what matters most is the music – the recorded output - and if you have the time and patience, then please do jump at the opportunity to check this out.

The album’s name is “Double Quartet Serie Volume 1.” Why the double quartet, you ask? Well, that’s because in the left speaker, you’ll hear the four folks from Hifiklub jamming out, and in the right speaker, you’ll hear Gary Arce accompanied by his friends in Fatso Jetson. Needless to say, the music is offered up in layers, sometimes piling three guitars onto a synthesizer, two drummers, and lyric-less vocals. Now let the thought of that sink in for a bit.

From tantric grooves to a hypnotic thrust, this double quartet use these seven songs as a vehicle to celebrate artistic freedom. At times, the arrangements can get pretty chaotic, sometimes bordering on a wash of noise, but at others, the album sounds as full as it does sparse and as melodious as it does jarring. These attributes to the music are explored in ways that seem new to the musicians playing these tunes.
Arce’s guitar is still fluid, but his playing here focuses more on creating atmosphere rather than a melody. The rest of Fatso Jetson put their experimental foot forward, allowing themselves to be taken away in the motorik beats of Hifiklub. It might be hard to imagine Fatso Jetson playing along to something so European, bordering on krautrock, but on this album they’re able to rise to the occasion.

Both quartets display that the language of music is international and knows no borders. If the musicians give in to this, then the moment when everything falls into place like Tetris blocks will find you before you find it.

“Double Quartet Serie #01” is available here

Band info: Hifiklub: facebook || Fatso Jetson: facebook || Yawning Man facebook