Free improvisation spliced with rock and jazz elements by The Resonators on their Dashin’ Headless (ANUNAKI TABLA AT-021) album. The six-piece of players recorded this live in Cologne in 2023 at the Loft venue.
There’s something to be said for the way they weave in and out of their extended jams without paying much attention to conventional structure, and the way all players successfully keep up their extended polyphony method for long periods, almost like a more poised version of The Grateful Dead. All the instruments overlap at once. Vocalist Jelena Kuljić from Serbia is apparently taking some of her textual sources from the works of Lola Ridge and Alice Dunbar-Nelson (both modern anarchist and political activist types), and when she’s ready to start accusing society there’s a stark tone in her recitative snarl, ever-ready to lash out at feeble old white men with her stern rebukes. Her mannered delivery (she’s also an actress) doesn’t really help the music swing or cut loose, but that doesn’t seem to be on the agenda for these Resonators; they’re undoubtedly skilled players on guitars, electric pianos and woodwinds, but they lack a light touch in their work as they execute these plodding anthems, dutifully working their way to the end as if it’s a dreary chore. Others, referring to their debut album, can perceive a mix of Ornette Coleman and Jimi Hendrix in this music. (05/02/2025)