Artist: Baku Llama
Label: 57 Records
Released: 2007
Rating: 4/5
The American trio Baku Llama was born when three former acquaintances bumped into each other after a long time. They realized they had musical interests in common, and after one “jam session” a new band was born. The album Eris is pretty much the fruit of those improvisations, since a lot of the tracks sound like they came straight out of those jams.
Even though the band members share similar interests, you can hear a lot of different influences in the music – jazz-rock, avant-garde, symphonic rock, folk and pop. No single genre dominates, and sometimes they get blended together. That way the band never wanders into overly familiar waters, and the music isn’t the monotonous kind you’d get tired of quickly.
The tracks Discord and Discord Resolved are quite reminiscent of Happy The Man, and here Baku Llama deliver the only two “pure” symphonic songs. Hamatsa is a typical jazz-rock fusion tune with electric piano and guitar riffs. Betrayed and This Time are more pop affairs, with some folk touches. Those two songs are the weakest on the album, since the vocals are fairly irritating. Vocals also show up on the song Eris, but they’re much less annoying and noticeable there. Ann Bernath mostly recites, thankfully. On Punch It you can hear the influence of folk, pop and symphonic rock, while the rest of the album is mostly filled with tracks that combine avant-garde and jazz-rock.
The biggest weakness is the vocals, but that’s hardly a serious problem, since they appear on only three songs. Luckily, the band decided to focus more on instrumental creations. The songs with vocals are weaker anyway, leaning more toward pop or folk. The keyboard side makes heavy use of electric piano, piano and assorted synthesizers. For me that’s the best part of the album, because they’re quite varied and ambitious. The guitar, set against the keys, builds atmosphere with strong repetitive riffs. Now and then the guitarist also picks up an acoustic guitar, which is most noticeable on the vocal tracks. The keyboardist occasionally plays various percussion instruments too (vibraphone, bells), which give the music a slightly symphonic touch. The drums are pretty basic and don’t impress, but for this kind of music, which relies more on improvisation and building ambiences, they’re good enough.
Eris is a very well-made album, but it lacks a spark of inspiration that would lift it from good to excellent. Baku Llama are definitely strongest in the avant-garde and jazz-rock department, and if they focus even more on composition in the future, we can surely look forward to even better releases. Until then, let Eris serve as a heads-up about Baku Llama’s potential. Now it’s up to them to realize that potential or stagnate.
Lineup
Ann Bernath – Vocals, Drums
David Bernath – Guitar, Bass
Rick Whitehurst – Keyboards
Production
Baku Llama
Track list
1. Discord 1:32
2. Hamatsa 6:47
3. Betrayed 4:22
4. Punch It 2:44
5. Eris 6:40
6. Six to Midnight 6:44
7. This Time 4:55
8. The Rite 5:00
9. Discord Resolved 1:12
10. Dream Eater 4:38
11. Torrential 3:44
12. Side Two 9:08
13. Tragic Mask 3:33
