Rob Sbar comes straight at
the listener with a barrage of speedy fusion on Wagon
Wheels and Atom Bombs. Sbar has an unusual
style that consists of clean-toned jazz phrasings that articulate
the underlying progressions and gritty-toned leadwork that blazes
over the fretboard traversing scales, sweeps, and raucous
patterns. Sbar's aggressive playing is built around his speedy
fret mauling that he has obvious troubles restraining. The
compositions explore some interesting harmonization with the
chordal underpinnings and soloing that has a sense of rawness
about it. The soloing seems to be divergent to the underlying
chord phrasings in places, but the blazing speed is so
distracting that the listener might not notice. This aspect of
the speedy guitar is reminiscent of some of Shawn Lanes
exploratory type music with Hellborg and Sipe. The exploration,
outside tonality, unusual rhythms, and shredding guitar work are
combined in a tenuous balance that pushes the envelope of fusion
and abstract jazz. But, there is some coherency to the
composition that puts this all into a palatable frame that binds
it with a perceivable musical vision. Sbar incorporates some
harmonious themes into the leadwork that strike some contrast to
the subduing shred that dominates his playing. Wagon Wheels and Atom
Bombs from The Rob Sbar Noesis is a
divergence from reality into the nebulous dimensions of abstract,
progressive fusion. Though the accessibility of this music may
not be digestible by the mainstream listener, the advanced and
progressive musical ideas that Sbar explores may be of interest
to followers of progressive fusion of the abstract variety. Sbar
has a very interesting style that fuses shred guitar
pyrotechnics, abstract harmonization, unusual chord progressions,
complex arrangements, and challenging metres that together
demonstrate his capabilities with advanced guitar and progressive
fusion. This is not easy listening for certain, but a technical
audience may appreciate where Sbar has gone with his unique brand
of abstract fusion.
The
Rob Sbar Noesis: Wagon Wheels and
Atom Bombs
2002, Aggregate Recordings, AG77712
CyberHome: http://www.Rob-Sbar.com
Guitar
Rob Sbar
Bass
Matt Schaefer
Drums
Erik Feder
1) Wagon Wheels and Atom Bombs
2) Lexical Gap
3) I Woke Up this Moning with
this Human Skin On... And I Can't Get It Off
4) 16 Shades of Grey
5) Drowning In A Vacuum
6) Media-Induced Paranoia
7) Blue Harvest
8) Diet Soda, Chinese Food,
and a Single Yellow Daisy
9) Wagon Wheels and Atom Bombs
(reprise)
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