Calliope (In) Organics CD

 I listened and listened, for days, weeks, years
On their third full length, the Motor City quartet Calliope successfully meld several genres with their slo-core space rock. Each song being the distinct offspring of some unlikely unions. "7/30" is born suitable for happy-hour music in the lounge of Space Station Mir, while trip-hop trash can beats propel the vinyl scratcher "Umbra" to the loading dock dance floor. "She’s got the way" provides the monster rock riffs to oppose the closing drones and despondent tones of "Despacio" and "Signals" (the latter takes the sounds of the human heart to an all-new eerie level by way of an echo-cardiogram and a drum machine). The album never abandons the dichotomy suggested by the record title, especially in the opening track "Did you get what you came for?" featuring a sitar and tabla sharing atmospheric territory with effects-laden guitar work and straight forward vocals from J. Andy Dryer. Nor does the album allow any moment to lazily lapse; rather the compositions tend to be tautly filled with subdued energy always on the brink of a soft explosion. Despite its deliberation, (in)organics comes across quite effortlessly. If our collective musical consciousness is moving toward a tempered, refrained, sophisticated yet hypnotic sound, then at the forefront of this halcyon movement must be Calliope.
Submitted by sydhartha (Seattle)
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