Dilute - The Gypsy Valentine Curve

Stick this in your ear/hole.

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AMG: The warm tones and thematic grace of Dilute is immediately apparent on The Gypsy Valentine Curve, the band's 2000 effort on Michigan's 54-40 or Fight Records. The disc opens with the composed and graceful "Bea" before unleashing an unpredictable flurry of songs throughout the nearly 70-minute platter. The spacious-sounding and unyielding experimentation of "Arrows Pointed Down" shows the band in the throes of a creative frenzy. The band breaks from musical convention throughout. The San Francisco Bay area quartet of Jay Pellicci, Ian Pellicci, Craig Colla, and Marty Anderson impress throughout with an inspiring and inventive spirit. Completely unpredictable, the wonderfully simple and thunderous "Rock and Roll" showcases Anderson's seething vocals, reminiscent of Roeland Van Niel, of Holland's Gitbox. The lengths the band goes to experiment with different tempo and chord changes makes the disc remarkably enticing, despite its lack of cohesiveness. "Freedumb" again puts the listener in a false sense of security, with the slowcore opening, before the rise-and-fall choruses startle you with their blistering and calculated, thrash-metal frenzy. Songs like "Saving a Life," while rooted in improvisation, hint at a certain thoughtful planning as well, despite its wonderfully quirky approach. The hushed roar of "Improvisations" closes out the eight-track disc with, not surprisingly, a colorful and extended improvisation. Recorded from April 1997 to September 1999, 54-40 or Fight Records finally released this masterpiece in 2000.


HEAR