Album Notes

Recorded over five brutal winter months by producer Jeremy Shrader, the 12-song disc perfectly captures Breaking the Cage’s dramatic, intricate rock symphonies. Like Radiohead without words, or Miles Davis with guitars, the tracks are both oddly futuristic and recognizable, listenable pop music. Vaziri calls it “the soundtrack to a feline civil war”, and as weird as that sounds, it explains the sound well. At times bright and bouncy, sometimes dark and blood-stained, the music never ceases to be meaningful. But, as it is an instrumental record, the meaning is fluid, supplied to the listener by the images the tunes conjure between the headphones or speakers.

The instrumental duo, featuring Tim Vaziri on Gibson ES 335 (that’s a fancy guitar, kids), and Kent Stratton on Yamaha drums (same guys who make motorcycles), has been active in the Midtown scene for the last two years, playing frequently at the popular night spots of our great city’s coolest sector. This release marks the beginning of their journey from the smoky beer halls to the living rooms and bedrooms of Memphis and beyond.