Rejoice!

Description

French composer and guitarist Frederic L'Epee formed his first serious band, Shylock, a legendary name in French progressive rock, and waxed two highly collectible albums with that group in the mid 70s; he them moved on to the guitar-centric combo Philharmonie, which produced a further five full-length LPs; and he has been working with YANG since 2004. The quartet's fifth release, Rejoice! - their third for Cuneiform - follows similarly to their last release, Designed For Disaster, which featured a guest vocalist for the entire album. This time the vocalist is the wonderful Carla Kihlstedt, who has many notable releases to her credit, but may be best known for her great work with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum! Yang's compositions primarily have their genesis in the music of Bach, minimalism, and, of course, the progressive rock he gravitated towards as a teenager, with King Crimson's Robert Fripp as a major influence, but there are passages on Rejoice! that sound very much like what Steve Reich, might have arrived at had he been writing for two guitars, electric bass, drums and vocals, rather than for percussion ensemble.