The music is always interesting, and it'll keep you on the edge of your seat.
author: Splendid E-zine
Whitford is named (according to the Internet, which is always true, yes?) for the dead black cat of one band member. That's the first clue to their darker sound, I suppose, although the banner on their website, "darkjazzmathpunks", kind of sums it up in a single portmanteau word. Whitford's disturbing debut is a live recording of their instrumental mix of eight string bass, electric guitar, saxophone and percussion. Initially, I was disposed to like them just for the picture of Whitford on the cover, who strongly resembles a cat friend, Ben. The music is almost, but not quite, beautiful. The edges of the guitar lines are not perfectly melodic; there's something just a bit out-of-kilter and dissonant about the music, as in "The YK22 Problem". This song's grating bass alone can easily make you imagine the disaster we were supposed to be experiencing this time last year. Some of the slower, jazzier tracks are so mellow as to be hypnotic, as in the untitled #11, or in the poppier "Strangers Have the Best Candy". Just when your ears start to relax, though, the tempo speeds up and the bass starts jarring again. The music is always interesting, and it'll keep you on the edge of your seat.
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Moody, dark instrumental jams with sax - very cool stuff.
author: Delusions Of Adequacy
... All of the songs on this oddly named release are laid back and restrained, something the band has done intentionally. This music is very well crafted, flowing and calm and yet intriguing ... it's in the subtleties and quiet complexities that this band really shines. They require a more focused listen ... "[T]andem" shows off the band's melodic side, with some fantastic guitarwork. "The YK22 Problem" is another example of nice melodic guitar with moments of more intensity yet still a restrained, purposeful feel. "George_Mule_Suttles: Neverafinessplayer" starts off very slow and strangely repetitive, but as the sax comes in to a greater degree, the song builds and builds, never out of control but to a greater intensity and falling into moody quietness. And the closer, "Shine So Bright," ends wonderfully, starting almost silent and building with melodic guitar, strong bass lines, fantastic rhythm, and hints of sax throughout. This song is beautiful ... I was pleasantly surprised to find Whitford's songs so intricate and enjoyable. The use of sax and jazzy song structures makes these songs immensely pleasurable ...
- Jeff
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80's nuts should not be without this CD
author: Professor Smooth
I must admit i only bought this CD because i am a fan of
"The Transformers Movie" in which Orson Welles plays
Unicron, a planet devouring robot. Though upon listening to
it the group really is very good. Any fans of music that
does not suck should buy this CD. THAT MEANS YOU!
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ORSON_WELLES: PLANET DEVOURINGROBOT [3/4]
author: In Pittsburgh
Whitford dances on the line where jazz and rock collide head on. It's like an album's worth of the moment before a storm, when everything is a pallid green and warm blasts of air are careening down and cold blasts of air are charging up. It all passes and leaves witnesses with a great sense of peace - everything is going to be all right. Listening to Andrew Paradise's saxophone here, it's not difficult to fall into that all-rightedness and want to stay there a while. But the grooves of Orson_Welles: Planet DevouringRobot, the group's debut, are not always so forgiving. While this is not a math rock album in the strictest sense, it's rooted in melody more than complicated time changes, it has an unmistakable math rock sensibility about it, and ebbs and flows and builds up and builds down the way any self-respecting math rock album should. Which may be the problem here. The driving, beautiful melodies hummed out to great effect by the lone guitar and saxophone are very often hamstrung by time signature noodling. It's tempting to imagine how beautiful an album like this could be. Songs that set the music free, like the stunning "Until He Comes Home," and the shimmering "Shine So Bright," offer a peek at the heights instrumental music in general and Whitford in particular can reach. As it stands, it's a promising debut. // ROTARY DIAL // STEVE MAY
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