Barry Black: Tragic Animal Stories

Barry Black is a side project of Eric Bachmann of the renowned Archers Of Loaf: Together with a dozen or so very good musicians playing standard orchestral instruments, Bachmann delivers a sort of frenetically eerie chamber music. On Tragic Animal Stories, the effect is sad, measured, thoughtful, and very much evocative of the album's title. Barry Black manages to create a weird alien sound with music alone, never needing electronic instruments to establish a mood; Bachmann does utilize tape loops and samplers, but you'd never know it without checking the liner notes. All 10 songs are distinct from one another, but all clearly belong to the same opus—not too high-falutin' a word for what this band has done here. Tragic Animal Stories should be listened to repeatedly, in the dark, without any distracting stimuli; it's that strong. In a time when most instrumental music is on soundtracks—or sounds like it should be—this record stands alone, rewarding careful listeners with a thoroughly engrossing, purely aural experience.