CARL – Solid Bottom

11.5.19 by Ryan Masteller

My exercise routine gives me a solid bottom also, but I don’t think any of us are clicking on any Tabs Out ads to come here and read about my physical condition. (And if you are, I’ve been diligently working out all my muscles. Consider yourselves updated.) CARL (not this one), on the other hand, have been digging around a thesaurus and not using “bottom” in the same way that I am. Instead, the trio of Damon Smith, Andrew Durham, and Danny Kamins are interested in the “bottom” of the sound spectrum, the low end, as it were, the one populated by all that bass, the foundation of all great music. Solid bottom indeed!

As you might expect from an Astral Spirits release, the trio has gathered to improvise, utilizing such far-out frequency generators as double bass, electric bass, baritone saxophone, and radio manipulation and effects. The result is a rumbling maelstrom, like heavy seas charged with atmospheric disturbance. The sounds swirl together and wash through the speakers as a whole, a heaving mass of sonic commotion. Only when you tune your ear to the individual performances does “Solid Bottom” start to open itself up to you. 

While Smith and Durham frequently occupy that low end, they allow Kamins to surface and swirl like a waterspout on his sax. And even though the emergence is attention-grabbing, it should do nothing to detract from the constant submarine churn. This is all about the “Solid Bottom,” after all, so stay on your toes and be ready to dodge the tsunami headed your way! (Note that I am always ready for peak physical activity.)

Purchase forthrightly from the lovely folx at Astral Spirits.