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Cavalcade’s Puns, Punches and Pigeons

I sure hope the file works this time. It's a pretty awesome cover and I'd hate to not have it on here.Trailing behind them a significant racket of riotous noise, Lansing, Michigan‘s Cavalcade crash their way through genre walls of avant-core incorporating elements of sludge, surf and grind to their first full-length, Into Bolivian. Vocalist/sampler Zak Warren bears an at times uncanny resemblance to CarcassJeff Walker circa Swansong (“You’ll Shoot Your Eye out Kid” reminds specifically of “Generation Hexed,” at least until the title-line section), and Don't try this at home. Or, if you do, at least make sure your friends are there to laugh.guitarist Cale Sauter adds saxophone and melodica atop spastic tracks like “Quiet Men Keep Secrets,” setting Cavalcade apart from nearly everyone. I won’t lie, there are parts of this record that are downright unpleasant, but since that’s so clearly what the band is going for, it’s not something you can hold against them.

Bassist/vocalist Craig Horky (also credited with “power tools” in the liner notes), apart from being the visual artist responsible for the stunning/disturbing cover painting, graces “Capsules of Holy Water” with a jazzy bop and clean tone, adding a progressive touch as well to the quirky “Riding Elephants into Cartilage.” In lockstep with drummer John Bruce, the Cavalcade rhythm section leads the way for Sauter and guitarist Brad Van Staveren to apply their King Crimson-type notes in multiple time signatures. Without them, “Seasonal/The (Matthew) Suite” would fall flat.

Sundry references pop up in the titles apart from the Christmas Story, Hannibal and Matthew Sweet ones Who doesn't love a boat?already noted. “Homeward Bound (and Gagged)” is bound to bring a smile to anyone looking at the back of the CD, as is closer “Eccentric Funeral.” Cleverness, it seems, is endemic. But unlike the swoopy-haired metalcore kids who’ve made the notion of a silly song title annoying, Cavalcade aren’t talking about high school girlfriends or the ubiquitous “tonight.” Into Bolivian, lyrically, is an exploration of schizophrenia and human madness in general — “Riding Elephants into Cartilage,” for example, is about Mike Tyson. And the themes are well suited to the music.

It’s not an easy or friendly listen — apart perhaps from the C.O.C. groove of “These Bastard Years” — but Cavalcade succeed in challenging their audience to keep up with them, twisting and turning and thumping their sound in multiple directions while Warren rasps “Pigeon is the new religion” on opener “My Pigeon, Julias,” which tells the tale of Joseph Zeman, the pigeon man of Chicago who died in late 2007. So while it goes without saying that Into Bolivian is going to alienate many, there will also be a specific ear which will cling to it. What might be best about the album overall is that it makes ambivalence impossible. Anyone hearing Into Bolivian is going to have an opinion one way or the other. Mine is pretty positive.

Cavalcade on MySpace

Bermuda Mohawk Productions

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