Kayo Dot
Coffins on Io

Release Date: 2014 | Tracklist

In 2003, an experimental progressive metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, maudlin of the Well, disbanded, and although they eventually reformed in 2008 and are still active as of 2014, multi-instrumentalist Toby Driver and certain peers truly received attention with the establishment of yet another, even more distinguished avant-garde metal outfit from the ashes of motW, Kayo Dot. The only consistent member of this band, Driver has seen this project undergo many changes in personnel with this project over a span of 11 years, and along the way, he and his peers have expanded upon their original and diverse style, encompassing elements of experimentalism, jazz, classicism, post-rock/metal, and so on and so forth, in order to ensure that every one of the now-seven albums has its own unique voice, yet never loses that distinct essence of Kayo Dot. Although Driver is a gifted musician with solid tastes in peers, his primary concern is artistic expression and musical landscapes, frequently delivering on sprawling exercises in progressive experimentation that is flavored up by sophisticated lyricism and some impressive musicianship, and truly thrives on emotions ranging from sentimentality that is defined by airy ambiences, to intense, perhaps apocalyptic gloom that is defined by dark ambiences, harsh tones and vocals, and an often excessive layering of atmospheric musicality. Kayo Dot, time and again, has betrayed much of their potential to me, for the sake of misguided artistic expression that always finds a place to aggravate, but there's simply no ignoring the talent and sophistication of this outfit, which, for all of the shortcomings, has struck time and again, and has evolved pretty extensively throughout a consistent release schedule. After receiving overwhelming acclaim for yet more audacious artistry in the 2013 double-album "Hubardo", Driver is left with relatively longstanding members Keith Abrams (Drums), Daniel Means (Woodwinds and keyboards), Ron Varod (Guitar) and Tim Byrnes (Brass woodwinds and keyboards), and promises a more grounded, '80s-esque flavor for Kayo Dot's newest endeavor, "Coffins on Io".

Lo-fi instrumentation, buzzing feedback ambiences, and an electronic rhythm open this album, defining the prominent electronic nature of this particular showcase by Kayo Dot, and of the awesomely named opening track, "The Mortality of Doves" (TRACK 1, 3.5/5), a twelve-minute-long homage to the dark wave movement of the '80s which takes notes from modern prog and electronic music, and which doesn't always live up to its glowing title or, for that matter length, hitting a couple of moments of sheer atmosphere that are far from tedious, yet are aimless, sometimes to the point of becoming lost in an experimental indulgence. The epic is not completely cleansed of a certain artistic excessiveness, and yet, it remains so much more grounded than many efforts we're used to with Kayo Dot, focusing more on vocals, by Toby Driver, that are consistently engaging in their melodic control and heart, even if the surrealistically reverbed, somewhat lo-fi effects over Driver's often obscure an extensive and intelligent lyric whose articulation and tasteful thematic depth, when palpable, adds to a bleakly intelligent, yet creatively trippy tone that makes the piece an almost impeccable recapturing of 1980s dark wave. I suppose the big hole in this homage is the instrumentation's being so much more competent and clean than what we remember from dark wave ballads of this type, for as the epic progresses, the electronics and, for that matter, experimentation dilute, bringing Keith Abrams' spot-on drumwork more to prominence, eventually complimented by some nifty brass and bass spots, until Ron Varod's guitarwork takes advantage of simple licks and extensive plays on tone and effects to subtly, yet surely, establish a dreamy sense of resolution in the finale. Although this hook proves to be a bit of a challenge to one's patience, comparatively, it's a pretty tight epic for an outfit as dedicated to musical artistry as Kayo Dot, with rich emotion, quality musicianship and thematic focus that, despite the obscuring of a solid lyric, are so much easier to embrace because of a relatively level experimental head, balanced out even further in "Longtime Disturbance on the Miracle Mile" (TRACK 3, 3.25/5), a ballad of only just over four minutes that focuses much more on the sometimes awkwardly delivered, but vivid, folksy lyricism than it does on an avant-garde atmosphere that keeps momentum a little cold, and overtakes the piece from time to time, yet entrances for the most part. "Offramp Cycle, Pattern 22" (TRACK 2, 3.25/5) is a little more out there, as a nine-and-a-half-minute-long piece that drags to its runtime, and hits some bizarre plays with effects and musical layering along the way, to be sure, yet is uniquely more rhythmic than atmospheric, with a predictably accurate, tightly in-tune drum performance by Abrams that brings things close to earth, while one's imagination is aroused by an almost poetically vivid and often weird lyric. The song is never entertaining or resonant enough to be glowing, yet I feel that it is perhaps most held back by its abandoning the lyric, then spending its last four-and-a-half minutes with a whole lot of nothing but electronic ambience and acoustic rhythmicity which ever-so barely evolve, because that's such a Kayo Dot mistake to make that almost costs the still-somewhat limited full impact of an otherwise strong song, and it gets worse with something like "Library Subterranean" (TRACK 4, 3.25/5), which takes us back to Kayo Dot's metallic heart, freshened up by electronics and dark wave sensibilities, and flavored up by yet more meticulous instrumentation that rarely loses focus in its coordination, but comes to lose focus in its direction.

Running about eight-and-a-half minutes in length, "Library Subterranean" kicks off with a killer hook, and once the vocals and lyrics come into play, they're not drowned out by effects, yet at about two-and-a-half minutes in, the piece enters an instrumental segment that seems to stretch on and on, because it's all built around the same basic rhythm and riffs, with but a few twists, and just like that, the excellence is lost, maybe not to where the strength is lost, but certainly to where Kayo Dot once again dilute a worthy vision with problematic experimentalist ambitions. As extreme a transformation as any in this showcase is found in "The Assassination of Adam" (TRACK 5, 2.75/5), which alternates between clean and driving, almost poppy highlights, and messy layerings of surrealist effects, ominous ambiences, and free jazz-esque jamming that is built more on eccentricity than virtuosity. There are a couple of cool twists here and there that break monotony and all but craft a pretty rewarding piece, but this is easily the most overblown exercise in experimentation, and it just doesn't have the high-caliber songwriting to completely justify all of its nonsense as a decent, but awkward penultimate track that sees a peak in artistic misguidance. Nevertheless, the ten-minute-long "grand" finale, "Spirit Photography" (TRACK 6, 3/5), gets to be disconcerting by its own right, at least in its first few phases, which find Driver turning in a bit of a hit-or-miss vocal performances whose falsetto hooks tend to be unnervingly cheesy, and whose consistent lack of focus takes you out of the lyric a bit. Ironically, the piece begins to come to life once it enters a low-key instrumental segment, - which is almost mesmerizing in its haunting brood and tonal delicacy, driven by a somewhat simple, but emotional sax solo by Tim Byrnes - but even that shift backfires once the roughly five-minute-long instrumental segment in question far outstays its welcome, only to be broken by yet more underwhelming vocals and forgettable lyrics, thus making the final product rewarding in its generally admirable atmospheric effectiveness and taste, but a little disappointing as an excessive album closer.

There are plenty of lengthy pieces in this showcase of only six tracks, but I can appreciate how the varying runtimes are spread out comfortably enough for things to not get too much more draggy than they apparently need to be, so my main issue is the descent in quality, because even though the album is so strong for long, nothing ever stands a chance of living up to the hook. I believe that the album should have built up to "The Mortality of Doves", but even that is tainted with a hint of the experimental misguidance that plagues this album throughout its course, by way of long stretches of essentially no instrumental dynamicity, in addition to a number of bizarre songwriting and technical touches that range from surreal to just plain awkwardly eccentric. Mind you, some odd moments in mixing and sound editing are cleaned up by the high-definition engineering that makes the cleanest moments in this showcase come in clear as a bell, with everything being mixed the way it ought to be, but that cannot fully justify this album's being yet another example of getting carried away with an artistic license in music. I reckon that means that it's not saying much to boast that this is one of Kayo Dot's more grounded releases in recent memory, but make no mistake, for all of the bloatings in experimentation, this album does focus on making its style and themes more accessible, as to call your attention more towards the true talent at the heart of this outfit. As an homage to '80s electronic and dark wave movements, this showcase really hits the nail on the head in transporting you to another time, but still keeping you tethered to today with some very realized modernist aspects that vary pretty distinctly throughout this album, establishing some subtle sense of dynamicity to material which is mostly just monotonous by its own right, and which draws you into the aesthetic of this band, complete with sophisticatedly atmospheric songwriting, upstanding lyricism, and expert musicianship. I was hooked right away by the title of "The Mortality of Doves", alone, and before too long, I ultimately found myself a little disappointed with, although I wasn't necessarily surprised, as I've gotten used to Kayo Dot getting carried away, and yet, with that said, fans are sure to find yet another hit in "Coffins on Io", while other lovers of artistic and progressive music-making are sure to be adequately rewarded on some level.

3/5

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3.9 excellent

Rank: #76 for 2014