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Colin Stetson
New History Warfare, Volume 1
Aagoo Records
Michigan native Colin Stetson is like the Roger Federer of avant-garde instrumental music. While the Swiss tennis player has changed the way we think of tennis, Stetson is redefining the possibilities of woodwind and brass instruments. Equally at home on the flute, French horn, clarinet, and saxophone, Stetson's musical innovations bring to mind the work of Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser and John Zorn. The opener "And It Fought To Escape" is an eight-minute struggle of pure and terrifying beauty; "As A Bird Or Branch" is stark and powerful and "Nobu Lake" is a singular, but nevertheless swirling blend of beautiful chaos. Armed with a degree in music from the University of Michigan, Stetson hit the ground running and in ten years packed his CV by earning critical praise for his band Transmission as well as recording with everyone from Arcade Fire to Tom Waits to DJ Recloose. An intellectual and creative blend of John Coltrane and John Zorn, Stetson's compositions initially register as edgy instrumental tempests, but repeat spins reward the listener with a clarifying understanding that all of these numbers are governed by a rare and kinetic expertise. A noted circular breather, Stetson can make his instruments bend in ways not heard before. Not one to be pigeonholed in one genre, New History Warfare, Vol 1 contains elements of everything from of jazz to post-punk to twisted folk. As effective on pieces that are under two minutes ("Stand, Walk," "Quincy Had A Glandular Problem") and over ten ("Our Heartbreak Perfect"), Stetson is sublimely sophisticated and brilliantly idiosyncratic. Recorded live with no overdubs or loops, his debut asserts that as far as avant-garde composers go, Stetson may very well be the new prince.
-- Alex Green
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