It can be a bewildering experience entering into the murky realms of the musical avant-garde. At first listen, it may feel like chaos and cacophony. However, after a few listens the listener starts to grab onto catchy little nuances in the track, starts to pick apart and unravel the inner workings. Suddenly, the chaos has structure. It is no longer a mindless mess but a well-calculated web. Suddenly, what felt like a impetuous dump of imagination is actually exceptional talent. The tortuous and muddled ramblings are actually well-crafted prose of exceptional beauty, like a James Joyce or Thomas Pynchon novel.
After all, Ben Shannon and Sophie Min of the aptly-titled jazz duo SHAMIN do have to recite their tracks show after show. The tracks has to follow some sort of blueprint, right? Their debut work fine gnaw is undoubtedly a challenging listen amidst the bustling chops and intense musicianship. It’s an album that requires multiple listens to really penetrate its musical fibers. But there is a framework, there is an art, and when you, the fossicker busily prospecting the compositional horizons, hit that gold, you will no doubt embrace the findings. Give fine gnaw some spins, get lost in it…
fine gnaw is out this Saturday (April 6th). You can go and pre-order the album over on the Sha Min bandcamp page.