Afuche: Highly Publicized Digital Boxing Match

Afuche is a young band from Brooklyn, New York that play a brand of avant-garde prog and is another one of those bands that is hard to describe. The band certainly display an experimental approach to music on their new CD Highly Publicized Digital Boxing Match. Cacophonous musical passages and dissonant soundscapes of off kilter rhythms, changing tempos and squelching instrumentation are the order of the day.

The band formed in 2008 by Zach Ryalls (guitar) and Ruben Sindo Acosta (keyboards, percussion, vocals). Afuche has undergone quite a few line-up changes in a short period of time but rounding out the band on their new release are Denny Tek (bass), Andrew Carrico (baritone saxophone) and Max Jaffe (drums).

There is no doubting this is an adventurous release but this is one I had a hard time getting into. The musicianship is good but the music is too atonal for my liking. The cacophonous lead track "Monster Smith" is a prime example. Disjointed rhythms and blasts of saxophone with lead vocals buried in the mix are what you can expect. "Who're They" is a slower piece, less chaotic with gentler guitar but the melody is still hard to find. In contrast, "They're In There" sets a frantic pace with musical change-ups a plenty. That said I did enjoy some songs like the moody "Muscovy" and the melodic "TH Sq'd" featuring catchy acoustic rhythms and dreamy keys.

Perhaps over time this album will grow on me but for now this one earns three stars as the band is talented and well intentioned. If you dig avant-garde music in the vein of Zappa and the like, you will probably want to listen to some samples and decide for yourself. Released on Cuneiform Records.

Track Listing:
1. Monster Smith (3:43)
2. Who're They (2:07)
3. They're In There (3:43)
4. Danice Marino (3:09)
5. Here's to Here's to Toast (0:59)
6. Here's to Toast (4:43)
7. Initialeone (5:35)
8. Gulf (3:21)
9. Pablo Leon (2:46)
10. Muscovy (3:55)
11. TH Sq'd (5:03)

Added: June 5th 2011
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's MySpace Page
Hits: 2592
Language: english

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