Search - Eugene Chadbourne :: Pain Pen

Once you've heard Dr. Eugene Chadbourne play the guitar or banjo, the instrument never sounds the same. For someone who's made it his trademark to fray notes, bend tunes, and make ungodly racket, Chadbourne's often downright folksy--even while making big noise. Here, he appears with a band that boasts a stringy front line of himself and Joe Morris, who occupies the leading edge in improvised guitarists--a spot Chadbourne wouldn't care to claim, given his singular genius. Holding down the turbulent, rhythms--or better, throwing out a torrent of drums and bass--are Susie Ibarra and Mark Dresser, the former having just shone very brightly on her Tzadik debut, Flower After Flower, and the latter a perennial star amid the first line of New York's most adventurous improvisers. The 10 unpronounceably named tunes on Pain Pen find this band squirreling about vigorously, with Ibarra's cracking slap on the snare enough to make Morris and Chadbourne dwell deeply on each of their squiggles, jarring slashes, and folksy (at least in tone) meditations. All evidently free-improvised, the music is a dream for lovers of sound experiments dressed in acoustic, jazzlike clothing. It's inspired playing, start to finish, and energetically creative as all get out, to boot. If you're drawn to any of the constituents here, don't miss Pain Pen. If you're into risk-taking musical tumbles, likewise, don't miss this one. --Andrew Bartlett