It would be a gross understatement to say the music of Yeti Rain is an acquired taste, as is a combination platter of raw oysters, fried calamari, feta cheese, Buffalo wings, Sushi, and pig knuckles. I’m sure there are people who enjoy each of the aforementioned appetizers … just not in that particular combination. Yet it would be presumptuous of me to dismiss the notion that somewhere on this vast planet someone is smacking their lips at the thought of this culinary delight.
Different strokes for different folks.
And the dissonant musical styling of Yeti Rain is very different indeed – not music for the masses - yet there is a market and audience for this genre none-the-less.
And on their second album “Nest Of Storms”, the experimental duo of bassist William Kopecky (Par Lindh Project, Far Corner, Michael Angelo Batio, Parallel Mind, and Snarling Adjective Convention) and wind synthesizer and saxophonist Roger Ebner (Snarling Adjective Convention) have created a nightmarish avant-garde collection of soundscapes for the adventurous listener.
You notice I didn’t refer to the tracks as tunes … because there is no melodic semblance to structured music located anywhere on the album. This is all free form blocks of sound and on occasion … annoying noise.
Kopecky riffs away, laying down some masterful bass licks while Ebner blows his brains out on sax and wind synth. Yet neither seems to be augmenting the other. There are no cohesive moments on the disc – just two accomplished artists blissfully unaware of the other.
Although I’m not a big fan of most avant-garde or R.I.O. groups, I do enjoy a few Zeuhl artists which are in the same category as Yeti Rain such as Univers Zero and Magma – but those groups are much more structured in their approach to musical compositions.
Yeti Rain is just a little too free-form and experimental for my liking. I enjoy a little melody with my noise.
Reviewed by Joseph Shingler on July 13th, 2008
