Open Mouth, O Wisp
Skin Graft, 2004
rating: 4/5
reviewer: patrickd


Maybe you go for this kind of music. Some guy smashing a piano with 6-month-old babies really gets your musical boner popping. Gorge Trio and their North American debut, Open Mouth, O Wisp, have all the qualities of your favorite noise-rocking experimental bands. In fact, they're actually in some of them. Gorge Trio's resume reads like a laundry list with bands like Deerhoof, Sicbay, Collosamite, The Flying Luttenbachers, Natural Dreamers, and Ice Burn. So bust out the books, this album is best enjoyed with a bachelor's degree in music.

Open Mouth, O Wisp sounds something like noise rock lite. Imagine a band warming up, only they get hit by a tornado every couple of tracks. That's Gorge Trio. It runs that line of being good artsy and bad artsy. Either way, this isn't something you're going to play at a party, and it's useless for making out with anyone except the nerdiest music geeks.

Still, this album is interesting in an academic way. Every guitar pluck and drum hit is crystal clear and isolated. When the noise breaks through, it scrapes at the teeth. It can be grating and violent. During the 22 tracks, little shards of music occasionally poke out and bring the listener back to old familiar territory, but then fall back into pieces broken on the recording room floor. It's a strange mix when the easy stuff is the exception to the rule.

If you're the sort of person that loves your music difficult and you've taken a music class or two, then maybe the Gorge Trio is the right trio for you. But if you want something a little easier, then you probably shouldn't have read this far. Seriously, who reads a music review to the bottom anyway? Crazy art lovers who like stuff like the Open Mouth, O Wisp, that's who. Get a life music nerd.

1. A Comedy in the Sun
2. Memo to an Apparition
3. Plum Sign
4. Words
5. The Invisible Student
6. Intimate Addiction
7. Dawn of a Piccolo
8. Roof Halves and Dewdrop Gems
9. The Lurker
10. Triangles
11. Youth Island
12. Divining a Hot Spot
13. Living with Tigers
14. The Spa Bird
15. Paris Trap
16. That Pilot Set
17. Bitter Drum
18. Masks for Quilts
19. Health Seekers
20. The Age of Almost Living
21. Open Mouth, O Wisp
22. Treasure House in Amber