Some experimental artists go for the obvious fear factor, and it sounds like the audio equivalent of crushing Joe Rogan beneath four thousand points of metal and concrete. Others go the pretty, delicate route; still others for a tribal psychedelia. Gang Gang Dance are known to do it all together, combining soothing swells of sound with sudden turns to rhythmic freak-out and shamanic wailing. On Hillulah, a CD/EP, they illustrate this through splicing live tracks together; it?s difficult to tell how many songs are stitched together, and occasionally difficult to even see the stitches (we could look it up and tell you, but that would spoil the fun). With a Waits-like junkyard feel, ?Stanton Street/Knitting Factory? begins the record, and by the time the song ends in a complete apeshit freakout, you?ll either be salivating for the next track or flinging this across the room. Those in the first camp will be rewarded for staying.

By James Hayashi-Tennant
Nov 15, 2005