Exposé Online banner

Curlew — Fabulous Drop
(Cuneiform Rune 105, 1998, CD)

by Dan Casey, Published 1998-07-01

Fabulous Drop Cover art

Raw, jazzy, abrasive, avant, noisy, and yet oddly smooth. That's Curlew rapped up in a nutshell. Led by the blaring sax musings of George Cartwright, Curlew forges on strongly with this new release and they make no apologies and take no prisoners. The entire album has a very familiar feel, if you follow Cuneiform at all. With a laid-back but intense almost-live sound, Curlew have a feel not unlike Boom or Boud Deun, but their musical vocabulary is all their own. Most of the songs like, "Argon" or "August," are structured around fairly easy-to-recognize themes and statements, but Curlew are always wanting to make it as edgy as possible via the use of wailing saxes and guitars. Strangely enough, the music never feels heavy, but it's always plenty noisy. While there might be better bands doing this kind of stuff, Curlew is nothing to scoff at. The musicianship is tight, the band hangs together very well. The music is true to itself and achieves everything the band intends it to. While plenty of listeners won't make it through the whole album in a sitting, my guess is that plenty others will, and find it to be a hip and snazzy thrill-ride of sorts. Brace yourself first.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 15, 1998 releases

Related artist(s): Curlew

More info
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/fabulous-drop

Latest news

2019-06-05
Legendary Co-Founder of The 13th Floor Elevators Passes Away at Age 71 – Sadly, Roky Erickson passed away on May 31, 2019. Known as the father of psychedelic music and co-founder of the ground breaking 13th Floor Elevators, Roky had a profound influence on music from the 60s to today. Plagued by his own personal demons, Roky had a difficult life and is now free of these burdens. » Read more

2019-04-24
Help MoonJune Bring Great Music to Life – Like many music lovers around the world, we’ve been thrilled and amazed to hear the recordings that have been released by MoonJune from sessions at La Casa Murada in Spain. Such label stalwarts as Mark Wingfield, Markus Reuter, Asaf Sirkis, Tony Levin, Dusan Jevtovic, Vasil Hadzimanov, and many more have gathered in various combinations at the studio to produce some of the most creative music in recent years. Now, label head Leonardo Pavkovic is offering a compilation, La Casa Murada - MoonJune Sessions, Volume One, as a fundraiser for upcoming sessions. » Read more

2019-04-10
The Pineapple Thief to Tour North America – November and December of 2019 will see The Pineapple Thief bringing their music to Canada, Mexico, and the US, and famed drummer Gavin Harrison will be on board. The band has been touring extensively in Europe, but North America will be new territory for them. » Read more

2019-03-25
Scott Walker RIP – Noel Scott Engel, better known as Scott Walker, was one of the most intriguing and enigmatic musical figures in the second half of the 20th Century. His strange career started with The Walker Brothers, an American pop group that featured no one named Walker and no brothers. After moving to England in 1965, they had a series of hit singles. Scott's solo work started with Scott in 1967. Starting in the 80s, his work took an increasingly avant-garde turn. » Read more

2019-03-20
Freedom to Spend Unearths June Chikuma's Archives – Jun (June) Chikuma is well known for her video game and anime soundtracks, but she also released an album of experimental electronic music back in 1986 called Divertimento where she indulged the kind of spontaneity that wouldn't work in a soundtrack. RVNG Int'l label Freedom to Spend is bringing this overlooked item to broader attention with a deluxe reissue. » Read more

More news

Previously in Exposé...

Contrarian - Minor Complexities – While one can't fault this for its flawless execution, outstanding vocals or the excellent and thoughtful lyrics, it certainly doesn't cover any new ground stylistically beyond that well worn path...  (2008) » Read more

Random review

Listen & discover

Raoul Björkenheim's Ecstasy live

More recommendations
The Seventeenth Dream of Dr. Sardonicus Festival 2019

Print issues