Rachel’s/Matmos

Full on Night

(Quarterstick Records)

The Louisville, KY, band Rachel’s plays a sort of folksy neo-fusion style, with an emphasis on virtuoso instrumentals. There is a distinct echo of the seminal fusion style of guitarist John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra material, in particular The Inner Mounting Flame, which Rachel’s resembles in terms of narrative thrust, harmonic inflection and rhythmic drive, and, not least, a dark and introspective attitude. Matmos is the evil twin of Rachel’s, sharing most of the musicians, including pianist/organist Rachel Grimes herself. Their half of the CD, titled "The Precise Temperature of Darkness," is the underbelly of the almost mainstream music of Rachel’s. Matmos has devised a wicked mix of punk, disco and agrarian Menshevism. (I didn’t sleep through Russian history, did you?) Both performances are new takes on a previous Rachel’s number, "Full on Night," which I have not heard. Ultimately, I am more comfortable with the propulsive melodiousness of Rachel’s, but making the listener comfortable is not what Matmos is about. They deliver a wallop of a sound, dancing near the line of affectation at times, but never crossing over. They mirror the sensibility of Rachel’s neatly. Both ensembles make for a half hour of music making that is artful, quirky and good fun all at once.

—Peter Burwasser