Endless Garbage is the third in a series of free-form collaborations helmed by
John Dwyer, following
Bent Arcana and
Witch Egg. While those records were groove-heavy fusion efforts that alternately recalled
Can, electric
Miles Davis, and
Soft Machine,
Endless Garbage is much more scattered and abstract. The album materialized after
Dwyer heard some truly wild drumming coming from a garage a few blocks from his house. He left a note on the car parked on the street, and drummer
Ted Byrnes got back to him and sent over a bunch of drum improvisations recorded in the garage.
Dwyer then invited several of his colleagues to contribute to the recordings, each musician stopping by one at a time and adding parts to the sonic stew.
Dwyer himself plays several instruments, including synths, flute, and saxophone.
Greg Coates contributes meaty standup bass,
Tom Dolas adds some luminous keyboards, and
Brad Caulkins' semi-melodic horns wheeze through it all.
Byrnes clatters away underneath everything, guiding the musicians more spiritually than rhythmically. "Goose" is one of the more exciting bursts of creativity here, with
Byrnes sounding like he's knocking over everything in sight, and angular synth noise spluttering away before reaching a standstill and droning for about 30 seconds. "Lucky You" is filled with fuzzy acid guitar riffs, suspenseful organ swells, and turntable-scratched voices. "Pro-Death" has kind of a languid, pleasant bassline flowing underneath the noisemaker-like synth and clanging drums that sound like they're partially covered in silverware. "A Grotesque Display" has jazzy melodies poking out of the wreckage, and dubby delay twisting them into smoke. "No Goodbyes" has a bit more of a synergy between the keyboards, upright bass, and saxophone, but they're at odds with the drums, the buzzing synth, and the noisy guitar freak-out nearly four minutes in. Fair warning to
Osees fans, this is easily the most difficult of
Dwyer's collaborative records that have been released so far, and it only seems tenuously connected to rock music, instead dwelling on the outer limits of group composition. There's no hooks, no lyrics, no steady beats, and a lot of dissonance. It's one of the most out-there Castle Face releases yet, but for those willing to face the chaos, it has some fascinating moments. ~ Paul Simpson