https://cacophonousrevivalrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/gestalt
Genre: Post Modern Melding
Rating: 5/5
released on bandcamp October 8, 2021
RAIC=Richmond Avant Improv Collective
This record is the tenth by this band but somehow the first to make its way into my world. Straight up, I’ve never heard anything quite like it. There are a handful of genre hoppers out there but as far as I know, nobody who can do it like this. It might be totally appropriate but I feel inclined to mention Zorn’s Naked City but even with the wickedly creative and all-star cast of Naked City, RAIC, at least on this record, the only one I know, compares favorably. This is better. While Naked City can come across gimmicky, Gestalt goes hard and deep into the genres they explore. They do everything with sincerity and I’m also sincere when I tell you everything they branch into on this record is top shelf. Not just surprisingly good but great by any metric. Whatever they attempt, they conquer. It’s not just the eye-popping insanity of watching a person juggle 16 chainsaws – this isn’t circus bullshit. The aesthetic of everything here is on the deepest level.
This is so big time on the AOTY list and if anything comes along better than this I’ll be astonished.
Warmth Highest 