Search - Marc Ribot, Ceramic Dog :: Party Intellectuals

Barking and Biting

S. Finefrock | Raleigh, NC | 07/28/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Marc Ribot has been one of my favorite guitarists over the last few years. Wherever he turns up you can pretty much count on a quality musical project. His eclecticism is impressive, everything from Tom Wait's gutter blues to Robert Plant and Alison Krause's ethereal country blues to John Zorn's Electric Masada and their electric chaos has benefited from Ribot's remarkable guitar stylings. His own faux Cuban project, Y Los Cubanos Prostizos was stylish good fun as well, featuring an organic Downtown answer to the Buena Vista Social Club.



On PARTY INTELLECTUALS Ribot comes out flaunting his rock side, teaming with Ceramic Dog-mates Shahzad Ismaily on bass and Ches Smith on drums. Maybe I should say "rock", as this is some pretty outré stuff. It kicks off with a fried version of the Doors warhorse BREAK ON THROUGH that sets the tone musically for the whole project. The rhythm section is in pummel mode, while Ribot sets his guitar tone on stun. The vocals are more shouted than sung. DIGITAL HANDSHAKE attempts to see how much compressed guitar noise a person can stand and still enjoy the song, meanwhile Midost rides a Heavy Metal riff until the tune breaks into a million shards of aural chaos. Other songs like FOR MALENA, SSHH SSHH and TODO EL MUNDO EN KITSCH are less harsh and often approach tender in the case of MALENA. To me the only misstep is the post-Beat poetry over skronk WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND WE WERE FREAKS.



Fans of Ribot's past projects are well advised to check this out, though neophytes may wish to check the samples out before purchasing. PARTY INTELECTUAL delivers some pretty engaging music, but you may wish to think twice before playing it at party. The results could be a little polarizing.

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Hard Rock with Brains

George De Stefano | Long Island City, NY | 07/21/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"NYC guitar wizard Marc Ribot has made a straight-up hard rock record, one that boasts conceptual smarts and rock 'n roll passion. Some of this is not for the faint-hearted, but fans of Ribot's signature sound and artistic daring will love it."

Sizzlin' Energy

T. Klaase | Orange Park, Florida United States | 07/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a forward-thinking album. High energy. Esoteric. A departure (or sorts) for Ribot - but a hot album none the less. Not quite as inaccessible as some of his other efforts. Listen to the sound clips - you'll be convinced..."