Experimental and Intricate Instrumentation
A Rhyton is a Greek vase from which alcoholic beverages would be drank. Now, it is also the name of the indie-experimental-psychedelic trio from Brooklyn. They use the ancient urn as inspiration for their newest album, Kykeon (which is also an ancient Greek brew), in which they go all-instrumental.
All but one of the songs on this new album is under six minutes. With a regular pop-rock act, this would seem arduous and overblown, but because none of the songs feature lyrical content, the longer form allows each song to change, shapeshift and explore multiple moods in the process.
The first song, “Siren in the Byblos” starts off electronically with sounds that make you sure that their synthesizer has broken. It is a chaotic opening that suddenly shifts into a cool groove with the help of interlocking guitars, a tambourine as the sole percussion instrument and, if you listen hard enough, a delicate mandolin melody.
Expanding on their use of the mandolin in the second track, “Topaki” adds lightness to the waves of tiny cymbals that crash over the song. These two elements aid the overarching eastern melodies that come through in the guitars. The song is calm and tranquil. It is the perfect transition from the first track’s more iritic nature. Above all, it ends with awesome but subtle mandolin and guitar solos.
“Gneiss” melds the electronic and guitar much better than the first track, as the strange reverb on the guitar allows for the unidentifiable synthesizer sounds to blend.
What this album does better than most is create guitar sounds that are intricate and strange. On every song, the guitarists create different moods for the listener to get lost in and to explore.
Maybe that is why the only song that doesn’t work is the penultimate one, “California Black Box Vapor” which features the only all-electronic composition. It is a chaotic and unpleasant listen.
Despite this falter, the album is one of the most musically creative you will here all year.
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