Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-la-la Band

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Harmonic and dynamic group singing has now been installed as an integral tool in Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band’s sound. As if they needed yet another push further from the middle, their unique forceful clash of bowed and picked strings now has jaws dropping both on stage and all over the world. Efrim Menuck’s open-throated rally-cries, instead of jumping alone on a bed of cello and violin, is now often heard bellowing out of harmonies secured by the other singing members. Imagery laden with “us versus them” testaments, using punk rock as a political anchor of beliefs still fortunately prevails throughout Menuck’s poetry.

There is a desperate tone infused into SMZ’s more-rocking sound, which speaks to a certain newfound sense of urgency that has previously lacked in small-orchestra driven post-rock of late. It appears as if to suggest that perhaps the slow-train-coming apocalypse signaled by Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s chordal movement-based structures is now here and burning like a meteor. Newly recruited ex-Hanged Up drummer Eric Craven brings his free-jazz convulsions into the lingering tension of “Black Waters Blowed/Engine Broke Blues”. And songs like “1,000,000 Died To Make This Sound” and “BlindBlindBlind” have been live killers for a little while now, kicking around in different slightly rewritten conceptions.

In a way, you can consider 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons a continuation of the ideas harboured in 2005’s Horses In The Sky however, this new record makes a huge leap towards the intensity and energy of SMZ’s famed live performances in the last two years. And it stands out even in the thick of experimental band-made music of late with twelve straight introduction tracks accumulating to a mere one minute of droning feedback spins. 13 Blues literally begins on track 13. I find this idea so ridiculously goofy for such a seriously poetic project, but then again, I dunno, have I already forgotten the likes of the goofiest 20th century artists like Bob Dylan or Jim O’Rourke ‘par example’? This is an incredible album to groove to the familiar awesome sounds of such a dependable band, but its also a great one for those who wish to check out the (echem) “Black Emperor’s new clothes”, per se.

Jeremy Young