Kayo Dot
Coyote

2010, only two years after the disappointing "Blue Lambency Downward," Kayo Dot returns with "Coyote", again for Aaron Turner's Hydra Head, fully redeeming themselves.
What's new? A massive reduction in distortions (except in the short suite "Abyss Hinge 1: Sleeping Birds Sighing in Roscolux") and the introduction of rhythm, a more delicate sound but sustained by odd times that strongly recall the '70s King Crimson for sounds and the '80s for tempos. The rhythm section reaches the first level unlike the old avant-garde works where the rhythmic parts were much more "sparse" in time, and in some moments, it also reveals a violence and cynicism reminiscent of Tool. But there's something more, something missing in KC and Tool, as in previous works, there's the "post-rock" element that accompanies the whole story, making it more mysterious and fascinating, and transforming the gray that emerges into sky blue.

The most imposing track on the album is certainly "Whisper Ineffable", which in terms of psychopathy has nothing to envy from Boris of "Amplifier Worship". It feels like the creation of a conservatory musician locked in an isolation cell for a week wearing a straitjacket and obviously without a shadow of light. If in "Black One" by Sunn O))) Malefic wanted to record shut inside a coffin, here certain sensations (vocally) are much more plausible and especially in a clear voice, without engaging in ridiculous antics and without imitating the sounds of a Pomeranian that got a piece of meat stuck in its throat.

Less imposing but of equal artistic weight is the other gem of "Coyote", "Abyss Hinge 2: The Shrinking Armature", a tangle of horns, violins, and xylophones intertwining on the distorted base of bass and drums that directly brings us back to Gong, replacing the "freak" element with the "dark" element.

In essence, Kayo Dot change the way they express themselves but not their essence. Formidable musical researchers.