*download below*

I picked up this record solely because of the ridiculous lineup of instruments. Rob Mazurek uses the following: cornet, organ, celeste, piano, prepared piano, harpsichord, noise box, moogerfooger analog delay and ring modulator. The second half of the duo, Chad Taylor, plays drums, cymbals, mbira, gongs, percussion, vibraphone and prepared vibraphone. I had a look a couple of those up to make sure they weren’t trying to pull a fast one.

I wish my last name was Moogerfooger

Pouring such a complex array of sounds into an album increases the chance that said album will play with the musicality of a clothes dryer simultaneously fluffing a can of pea soup, a toddler and a string of Christmas lights. Chicago Underground Duo luckily avoids this trap and uses each instrument in perfect proportion. What they were able to achieve with such a well-stocked toolbox is seven uniquely alive tracks. Each has its own personality–it shakes your hand differently, tips differently and prepares its hash browns differently. You always want them to get cheese on that shit so you can steal a few bites but they never do, which really pisses you off but you turn the other cheek because they’re just so cool. That and they have a bitchin’ Cadillac they let you borrow while they’re on business trips.

Vibraphone: The rich man's xylophone.

I’d try to quantify or qualify how the dainty pluck of the mbira, or thumb piano, was really a step forward in Taylor’s artistic development but I’m not going to do that. The reason is that this is one of those albums that has the opportunity to mean completely different things to each listener. Each song has a distinct theme but this theme doesn’t box in the listener’s train of thought.This doesn’t mean they aren’t engaging; it just means that they enable you to unleash your inner most thoughts and ride them high in the friendly sky. It’s the magic carpet you can hop on while you’re soaking up the calming effects of a scented candle or smashing a  fat  ass  blunt.

Mbira: Traditional African instrument. So dainty.

Finally, I feel that it must be noted that John McEntire’s engineering on this album is fantastic. Every instrument is perfectly defined and represented with full voting privileges. I’ve never been one to buy a record based on who was working the knobs behind the scenes but I’m going to make an exception this time. He took an album that could have been good and made it great.

8)

Click here to download In Praise of Shadows to MP3 from vinyl

8)

Harpsichord: Just look at those badass black keys.