Fans of classic-'70s art rock as performed by progressive icons
King Crimson and
Henry Cow need not fear that their music is forever a thing of the past, thanks to the unpredictable emergence of an ensemble like
Blast. This Dutch band led by guitarist
Frank Crijns, reedist
Edward Capel, and multi-instrumentalist
Dirk Bruinsma breathes new life and energy into the moribund form, which is usually left for dead by critics and listeners who equate progressive music with the genre's most seriously bloated and pretentious practitioners.
Wire Stitched Ears,
Blast's first release on the Cuneiform label, bristles with tightly focused energy, avoiding indulgent grandstanding and never meandering into the pointless noodling that can characterize much of today's rock-based improvised music. Throughout the disc drummer James Meneses punches out contorted rhythms, sometimes in lockstep with
Bruinsma on electric bass, as guitarist
Crijns throws his own clipped chords or noisy fills into the mix. Punchy, staccato bursts and wide-interval melodic lines from the reeds (bass clarinet and soprano, alto and baritone saxes) complete the twisted picture.