Following the full-length Vectors (Megalon) and the 4-song 12” Palimpsest (Dielectric), Bay Area residents Brian (Fraser) and Chris (Palmatier) return with 3, a six-track album of eclectic post-rock-electronic music that veritably teems with ideas, as the duo flits rapidly from one style to another within a single song. While Fraser typically handles drum chores and Palmatier adds tasty guitar riffs, the album's sonic diversity suggests the two should more accurately be labeled multi-instrumentalists. Their mercurial approach is evidenced by the aptly titled “Action Packed Vacation.” An intro of needling guitars and repeating piano chords segues into a prototypical post-rock section of aggressive drumming and electric guitar filigrees that escalates in intensity until it abruptly cedes its place to elegant picking. A meditative interlude emerges, then a soul-jazz episode, and finally the original post-rock segment re-appears enlivened by funky guitar noodling—all in a mere six minutes, yet surprisingly the music flows seamlessly from one section to another. Less manic pieces like “Galatea” and “Sakura” adopt a more delicate feel, the former an acoustic interweave of shimmering electric guitars and soft synths joined by raw guitar etchings and declamatory drum fills and “Sakura” a dreamy oasis of marimba patterns and electric piano sprinkles. “Matin” impresses most of all as it patiently unfolds over twelve minutes. Reminiscent of Sigur Rós in its dramatic and mournful feel, its slow and bluesy opening turns haunting with the addition of church organ, soft gamelan bells, ghostly guitar cries, and glockenspiel. Even though there may in fact be “more studio trickery than you can shake a stick at” (as the group's site attests), such trickery is subtly deployed and more evidenced in post-production sequencing than in extreme sound manipulations (“Crossing” the notable exception with its electronic clicks, funky distorted drums, and fuzzy dub-funk bass). As stylistically wide-ranging as it is, 3 is distinguished most of all by the fecund imaginations of its creators and the intelligence they display in their approach to song construction.

That would be Chris Palmatier and Brian Fraser. Fraser handles the percussion and programming, while Palmatier deals with the guitar and much of the noise. The music is electronic, after a fashion, but mostly what it is is alive. I'm not entirely sure why each of these guy's collaborative albums has been on a different label. The stuff is sufficiently brilliant to impress even the most wonkish critic, and yet it has a nice approachable patina. These songs were intended for a relatively wide audience, not simply a few geeks who like truly weird stuff. Which isn't to say that Palmatier and Fraser don't push themselves. They do. There's no accommodation to the mainstream here. It's just that the songs express themselves so beautifully that accessibility shouldn't be an issue. And yet, the boys keep moving around. Maybe they like spreading the joy to all their friends. Who knows? I'm not suggesting that this stuff is major label material. Of course it isn't. But it's goddamned great, and there are a large number of folks out there who ought be able to get their heads into this space.

Brian Fraser and Chris Palmatier met almost 10 years back while in college in North Carolina. After finding themselves both in California just over a year later, they started collaborative work on a soundtrack for an independent movie being made by a friend. The simply stated Brian_And_Chris was born at that time and the duo simply started creating music that they liked while throwing particular genre ideas out the window. Following a release in both 1999 and 2000, the two settled down a bit on their musical work and opened a studio a couple years later. With the release of 3, they should easily gain some more notice. Compared to their Vectors release of 2000, this album is by far more realized and thought-out. Whereas that previous release really did sound like a couple guys simply tinkering around in the studio and trying to make some interesting songs, the tracks on 3 almost all have a clear flow with builds and falls and occasionally downright awesome bits. "Action-Packed Vacation" opens the release and as filtered guitars slide and flow around the beginning, a piano chord progression enters while a drum machine beat keeps things in time. As the track folds back, real drums slide into the mix and give everything a bit more punch while pretty guitars and piano melodies weave around one another. At 6 minutes, the track weaves through several different section and eventually settles in on a melodic groove that recalls the quieter work by Mice Parade. "Crossing" sounds like it could have fallen right off a film soundtrack (particularly a spy flick of some sort) as a simple chime melody lingers over a stuttering and super-heavy rhythm section. About halfway through, the track morphs into something almost completely different as guitars take front and center while the drums again pound away. The middle-section of the album takes things down a notch as "Matin" again weaves through several sections and runs a rather epic 12 minutes while "Hey Rube" mixes in some almost southern-fried blues guitars with programmed beats, live drumming and juicy synths. Perhaps the oddest thing is that it all seems to work. While the group sounds like different things at different times (from the post-rock of Tortoise to almost melodic IDM), they never at all sound like anyone in particular and the wide variety of sounds at play on the disc is refreshing. Although there are plenty of studio tricks on the release (the duo considers it the primary instrument in their music), they're never overwhelming and usually help to just blur the line between electronic and organic elements. An assured release from the duo, this is an excellent little disc that I've found myself coming back to time and time again.

There are a couple of moments in "3" where I was reminded of Dif Juz, one of the best groups coming out of the 4AD label; nevertheless, Brian Fraser and Chris Palmatier certainly have no fear of bringing out their own artistical dimension which is nicely explicated through a harmonious blend of relaxing post-rock minimal vastnesses and not-too-predictable loose drum patterns. Brian and Chris work quite calmly amidst shifting cadences, pulsating grooves and placid fretwork to reach a pretty detached serenity that never outstays its welcome. Observing their music flow while in their confidential stance, Fraser and Palmatier achieve a beautiful result, with a very positive sense of balance and an eye to aesthetics, too.