Stop Motion Orchestra "Lightworks" CD

Megaphone and Knock'em Dead Records present the long-awaited second album by Austin, Texas based Stop Motion Orchestra. On Lightworks, the group draws on influences ranging from Henry Cow, Magma, Haniwa-Chan, and Picchio Dal Pozzo, to traditional music from Eastern Europe and South Asia. While the musicians who appear on Lightworks have extensive resumés in Austin's progressive and experimental scenes, the collective voice that emerges across the five instrumental works transcends both scene and genre, revealing a close-knit telepathic unit at the height of their powers. The tracks deliver thunderous juxtapositions of style in the spirit of the "rock in opposition" movement: Eastern folk melodies played on sax and violin are interlaced with synthesized bass lines and layered electric and acoustic guitars; meticulous notation is balanced by a raw, DIY aesthetic that emphasizes texture, and atmosphere; ancient myths are given a new soundtrack for the 21st century.