AltrOck has quite a find here with the large scale ensemble Yugen, whose third release Iridule mixes elements of prog rock, jazz-fusion, and avant-garde so well you'd think you were listening to a late night jam session between members of Frank Zappa, Henry Cow, Gentle Giant, Univers Zero, Present, and King Crimson. As it is, Yugen is comprised of a host of players from the prog & RIO scene, notably from acts such as Thinking Plague, Present, Univers Zero, 5uu's, U Totem, Hamster Theater, Stormy Six, French TV, and others. Mostly instrumental save for some brief female vocals from Elaine Di Falco, Iridule is a quirky, complex good time from start to finish.
This is pretty demanding material, no doubt for the performers to create, as well as for the listener to digest, but it's totally worth spending time with Iridule to discover all its riches. "Overmurmur" is a near 9-minute complex number featuring intricate violin, keyboard, guitar, horn, and reed workouts, while the always busy Dave Kerman provides plenty of deft drum work underneath. "Becchime" is like the bastard child of Frank Zappa and Gryphon, complete with jazzy reed & horn lines and insanely intricate rhythms, but the real winner here is the soaring, somewhat symphonic "Cloudscape". On this one, steady rhythms drive majestic arrangements that include multiple keyboards, bassoon, and reeds for a great effect.
There are a bunch of much shorter pieces that kind of bridge all the longer songs together, but the album sort of plays together as a whole quite nicely. If you like the complexity and avant-garde nature of the RIO scene, but also like some melody to go along with it, Iridule should be right up your alley.
Track Listing
1 On the Brink 0:51
2 The Scuttle of the Past out of the Cupboards 6:58
3 Iridule 3:08
4 Overmurmur 8:50
5 Scribbled 1:44
6 Becchime 6:20
7 Ice 1:46
8 Ganascia 4:12
9 Thaw 1:41
10 Serial(ist) Killer 5:45
11 Cloudscape 7:56
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