Chandeliers - Dirty Moves

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 4 / 4 / 2010

Label: Pickled Egg
Format: CD

Rough and edgy, but compelling combination of jazz, post-rock and freeform on 33 song second album from Chicago-based experimental project, Chandeliers

Review

Why is it that I oftenly prefer the music from Chicago over that from NYC? It can't be just that Chicago is considered to be the birthplace of jazz; it must be something else. Perhaps it's because of the many influences from The Big Apple which confuse me a little too much. Chicago is a whirlpool melting pot just the same,but it is most likely it is that I'm overwhelmed by the idiosyncratic diversity in The Windy City. Whereas NYC thrives on immigrant outlets, Chicago cherishes the input from ever so many rudimentary influences. The groovily splattered ongoings of Chicago's Chandeliers reaches the next stage. 'Dirty Moves' took up a whole 33 steps, going by the initial information details encrypted on the CD, compared to a measly 27 tracks on their previous Pickled Egg album 'The Trush'.'Dirty Moves' album works pretty much as a whole however. 'The Trush' still functions as the blueprint to the Chandeliers' rough and edgy sound. 'Dirty Moves' features hampered recordings which get cut off even before a sense of annoyance can settle in. Chandeliers hop, skip and jump towards a greater scheme in composition and in music. They leave aside an aspiration to perfect studio recordings and instead release almost three dozen sidestep demos on one CD. The track sequence on ´Dirty Moves´ continues very much in a same vein, as bits of jazz, post-rock and freeform all melt into one. No matter of the rush that Chandeliers found themselves in; theirs is a sound equally defragmented and complementarily funky. Never mind the crummy recording, their vibrant and edgy tribal jazz has a lot to offer for. And some tracks were as a matter of fact recorded crystal clear, like the up, bustle and out on the 'Dragon Contest' track. The 'Dirty Moves' are way too rough around the edges to please many though. A connaisseur's treat nonetheless.

Track Listing:-

1 Analog Cabin
2 Rubber Room
3 3rd World
4 Rotation
5 Dragon Contest
6 Telekinesis
7 Pharoah's Fury
8 Baker Bros
9 Taste of Cherry
10 San Miguel
11 Aerobiz
12 Prisoner
13 Yaqona
14 The Durks
15 Barcelona
16 Mayfield
17 Triumph
18 Ravecrunk
19 Everybody Knows
20 Sarah Lynn
21 In the Octagon
22 Street Talk
23 Champion
24 Color Motion
25 Moon Lit
26 Fiji
27 Arms Deal
28 Hotshot
29 Circulation
30 Sensory Deprivation
31 Top Hat
32 Axis
33 Rice