Cranially distorting spazz from emerging legends of the Montreal noise/improv scene. I’ve been told these two worlds are “Totally different!” by some un-fun dinosaurs.. frankly who cares? Anyone who’s been going to shows lately gets the shakeup of the standard genre-pure type shows we used to have until the 2000s. Kids these days! They want to eat everything, they don’t care what it looks like or what it’s called. Punk, jazz, noise, garage, it’s all the same fucking day. The dividing line between suck and sublime with improv music is the force of soul behind the playing, you can hear when real communication is happening between near-virtuosi, as opposed to dilettantes oinking out masturbatory smug-core through busted amps. Shining Wizard ‘ s first cassette release is a pummeling mess of awesome. The duo is both at play and dead serious about being good, eking out the spirit of Ayler as much as Naked City and Melvins, the grungy skein over all the tunes adding lightness to the sheer musicianship on display. Drummer Farley Miller is a behemoth drummer, who would make Sunny Murray a proud man, to be sure. Precise, pointillistic and fierce when necessary, his lines are lyrical, painterly. His guitar counterpart, man about town and impresario Alex Pelchat attacks his guitar with Quixotic fury. Pedals are introduced when necessary, building and building from dry chicken plucks to thick slabs of fuzzy fury. These two mind meld on this smartly short EP, never long winded, never boring, just a joyous smashing of raw fury with free-jazz sensibility that neatly sidesteps fustiness while maintaining boot-clad feet right in the world of punk.
When free jazz met the moshpit, Shining Wizard was born, it’s a powerful first offering by two musicians ascending to the peaks of their wizardly powers, perfectly in step.
