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INSIGNIFICANCE
IMPORTANT
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Unlike Barbez’s first two discs, Insignificance (out this Tuesday), again produced by New York noise stalwart Martin Bisi, feels less like an adjunct to the group’s theatrical live shows than an accomplished studio work. It adds another bead to their string of Brecht interpretations, this time the anti-authoritarian "Song of the Moldau," with a deft cameo solo by the Lonesome Organist. Other outside material includes two Slavic folk tunes and a spacious arrangement of Erik Satie’s third Gnossienne. But the real interest lies in guitarist Dan Kaufman’s originals, with tricky time signatures that could come out of 14th-century Macedonia or mid-’90s Chicago and are enhanced by the unusual control of theremin player Pamelia Kurstin. Both the title track and "Fear of Commitment" begin as poised Tortoise-and-Cake confections before breaking out into, respectively, staticky, disorienting electronics and hardcore — that is, if hardcore featured marimba solos. And St. Petersburg–born Ksenia Vidyaykina’s vocals are deep and rough-timbred as she threads a multi-lingual path through the 10-minute-plus "Pain." If the Dresden Dolls are the gateway drug of cabaret rock, Barbez are the hard stuff.
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