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 |  Colditz GliderProperties Of Light Building/Shock Colditz Glider are what happens when excitable jazz students are left unsupervised with Rush records. There is no doubt that the Melbourne quartet are brimming with such things as technical ability, theoretical knowledge, and a deep, deep urge to leave no harmonic interval untried nor chord uninverted. So deep is this urge, in fact, that they seem to do both several times over on each and every one of the six tracks here. Entirely instrumental, 'Properties Of Light' is a dense musical plenum, and while its claustrophobically intense fusion will certainly appeal to some, I must admit I was left feeling that the unrelenting lack of space only served to compromise the sense the dynamics of each piece. The record has its moments but ultimately seems like more of a po-faced chops-fest than anything else. Maybe it's the lack of vocals; I suspect Zappa (cited as an influence by the band) got away with this sort of minimal melody stuff in no small part because his listeners knew they were never too far away from something fun and inclusively self-aware, and while Colditz Glider are probably having lots of fun in playing these pieces, I'm not sure whether the listener will share this. That being said, I'm sure there's an audience out there for Colditz Glider, and I sincerely hope this record will find its way into their hands.  | |
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