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Auktyon
Girls Sing
(Geometry)
First Appeared in The Music Box, April 2008, Volume 15, #4
Written by Douglas Heselgrave
Wed April 23, 2008, 10:30 AM CDT
Girls Sing is not music to be played at a dinner party — that is unless a
picnic at the banks of the River Styx is your idea of a good time. From the
opening screech of Profukal to the demented, 11-minute-long, carnival
howl of the title track, which brings Girls Sing to a cacophonous halt,
it’s clear that Auktyon’s songs aren’t going to be hitting Top 40 radio stations
anytime soon.
Auktyon’s work recalls an era of European music when the boundaries in art,
theater, and composition were blurred. After emerging from within Russia’s
underground music scene, the group’s performances became the stuff of legend,
and much like the Dadaists that preceded it, Auktyon pushed the boundaries of
what was considered possible. Girls Sing, the band’s first outing in 12
years, was sparked by its appearance at New York City’s GlobalFest, and aided by
Yerba Buena’s Andres Levin and the Klezmatics’ Frank London, the ensemble found
a more open, improvisational method of recording.
After creating the basic tracks for Girls Sing, Auktyon invited
keyboard player John Medeski and guitarist Marc Ribot (a longtime collaborator
of Tom Waits) to assist with completing the project. Although the music sounds
incredibly complex, none of the songs on Girls Sing contains more than
two chords. This left a lot of space for Medeski and Ribot to improvise, which
removed any of the uncertainty that Auktyon had about working with their new
partners. There is a raw, surrealistic edge to the album, and Medeski’s
contributions are joyously free and creative. He not only avoids his jam band
tendencies, but he also contributes organ lines that would feel right at home on
the soundtrack to a Fellini film.
It is, of course, difficult to assess Girls Sing in any sort of
conventional manner because the album isn’t a collection of songs. Instead, it
is an auditory attack on the senses. The lyrics are screamed, grunted, and
howled in one passage, then mumbled and whispered in the next. I asked a Russian
friend of mine to explain some of the lyrics. He told me that they were rude and
nonsensical and that they eluded any easy kind of translation. However, he also
stated that lacking a comprehension of what is sung isn’t an impediment to
enjoying the music because he "wasn’t sure what the hell they are talking about"
on most of the tracks anyway.
In other words, fans of Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, Bjork, and latter day
John Coltrane ought to find a lot to enjoy about Girls Sing. It is a
difficult and challenging disc that is not for the timid. Yet, with some
perseverance, it ultimately is a wonderfully rewarding endeavor.  ½
Of Further Interest...
Idan Raichel - The Idan Raichel Project
Soulsavers - It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land
Teddy Thompson - Upfront and Down Low
Girls Sing is available
from Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
This album is not currently available in Canada or the U.K.
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
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