CD Reviews

Blink. | The Epidemic Of Ideas

Thirsty Ear (2008)

By JON GARELICK | October 1, 2008

3.0 Stars

Chicago quartet Blink. (hey, the punctuation is their idea) mix and match the skronk of the Chicago scene (pace Ken Vandermark) with a healthy dose of New Yorker Tim Berne’s angular mantras and their own taste for electronics. So you get lots of rock backbeats, nasty, skewed electric guitar (Dave Miller), an alto sax as controlled and precise as it is freewheeling and fearless (Greg Ward), and lots of those Berne cyclical-pattern rave-ups (held down by bassist Jeff Greene and drummer Quin Kirchner). “Glass” (as in Philip?) builds from gamelan clanks and chimes over a drone of long-tone sax and tart Sonic Youth guitar intervals, then continues to unspool, drums joining in, until a full-fledged freakout is under way, and then a slow fade back down to quiet gamelan. Throughout, Miller and Ward are perfect foils — needling each other, playing in splintered counterpoint, making a ruckus, but a spare ruckus. Aside from the general aggressive, post-rock, post-jazz underground feel, there’s pretty tunes here, lots of slow, quiet parts, bebop flow, and even some walking bass. Another way to hear jazz.

Blink. | Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St, Cambridge | October 6 at 8 pm | $10 | 617.395.1393 orwww.lily-pad.net

Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, More

| More

Friends' Activity

Popular

Most Viewed

See more deals

view all

[ 02/01 ] Red Baraat @ T.T. the Bear's Place

[ 02/01 ] Rise Against + A Day to Remember + The Menzingers @ Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell

[ 02/01 ] Superior Donuts @ Lyric Stage Company of Boston

ARTICLES BY JON GARELICK

REVIEW: LUCK | January 24, 2012
You get the feeling that Milch and Mann just want to show off what they know about horse racing. When one of Marcus's crew keeps screaming out during the big Pick Six race, "What's going on!?," he speaking for the audience.

A YOUNG JAZZ MASTER LOOKS TO A PERSONAL HERO | January 24, 2012
Jason Moran — 37-year-old MacArthur Fellow and New England Conservatory teacher — epitomizes what's best about the current jazz scene: a composer and pianist who can — and does — draw on all eras.

ED REED SINGS IT HIS WAY | January 10, 2012
It's almost cliché to describe the sound of a veteran jazz singer as "lived in."

OLD FAVORITES AND DEBUTS MAKE THE SCENE | December 30, 2011
We have to wait for spring to see Charlie Haden's Quartet West and the Joshua Redman/Brad Mehldau duo, but there are still plenty of ways to keep an eye and ear on jazz in the winter months.

10 BOSTON JAZZ ACTS THAT BLEW THROUGH THE ROOF IN 2011 | December 21, 2011
Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite things from among the people, CDs, and performances I wrote about this year.

See all articles by: JON GARELICK

Most Viewed

Most Emailed

GENDER BIAS AT NPR — AND WHAT IT REVEALS ABOUT THE WORLD OF LITERARY FICTION
In August 2010, the literary corner of the Internet seized in crisis.

YOU GOTTA FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT
There are a lot of colleges in Boston, and they all have a lot of parties. I spent the semester trying to chronicle them for the purpose of science.