Lower midrange post-ballad balladry is on offer here. Sonje de Gamma and Oldman serve up something really palatable in the way of baritone to tenor register warmth.
Everything is in a tasteful balance. On the one hand, I hear a jazz influence (more Jim Hall than John Mclaughlin), and on the other, a kind of electronica meets noise rock (more Nels Cline than Thurston Moore) oversite.
The restrained bass growl is never overwhelming as it duets tastefully with the guitar's thicker strings. In sometimes odd meters, plucked lines and fingerpicked arpeggios mingle, yet there is no mistaking this music for anything related to bluegrass.
"Wig or Toupee" is a gradually de-accelerating synth strings and kick drum chorale. While this is usually a trite device, De Gamma and Oldman have given it a tasteful treatment and much needed update. Daidala eschews trappings. While it is an album put out by excellent musicians, it's an album that does not flaunt technique. While there is the use of electronica, it is done so tastefully that the synth sounds, digital effects and drum beats seem incidental to what is going on harmonically and dynamically.
Lastly, textural or ambient playing may be a technique in itself - hackneyed across the slowcore firmament. I
like actually being able to hear non reverb-drenched melodies. ...and tasteful ones at that.
This music is neither amphetaminized nor comatose. At the risk of grandstanding, I will say that this album is a classic.
Max Go
