”Sci-Fi Middle Eastern Fusion”
This is a new one for me. I wasn’t trying to write about a friends’ band. But, honestly guys, I would have reviewed this one had it come out of the deep blue. It is just that good. A trio of New York – based groove wizards, Consider The Source harness a vast array of Jazz and Metal, Balkan and Middle Eastern traditionals: Fusion Rock as seen via rose-colored Americana, psychedelic space lasers and Simpsons references.
Between solo efforts and frequent rub-ins with jamfest rapscallions, CTS has amassed a considerable following beyond the tri-state, along with a serious discography of heartfelt, irreverent, erudite, and technically grandiose records. Hundreds of live shows down that road, the boys have come down with a cold and sneezed out their most ambitious, most polished effort to date. This is the one to resonate across streams; this is the one that feels focused and essential and I need only direct you to the source itself.
For the restless fan of unique experimental music, who is unafraid to deep dive the dreaded instrumental depths, who nevertheless considers bands like Animals As Leaders as sounding too sterile, too technical and not sufficiently emotive, who listen critically but admit it is more fun to listen intuitively, CTS provides a meeting place somewhere in the middle. Their speed and technical prowess are easily matched by their playful turns of phrase and uplifting traditional touchstones. See: the Opeth-esque prog runs, the Balkan spirituals, the soulful Paradox Trio cover, the plaintive wailing of a fretless guitar e-bowed through a custom patch; a modern treatment of ancient modes paying homage to the historical continuum and pulling that line up through the present and the future: A Cantina band for our troubled times.
The band has been touring consistently for over a decade, but this is the crucial release as now they are poised to break onto the big screen, as it were. This is the big time release, short though it is. For enjoyment by Jazz snobs, jam kids, Oud-strummers and survivors of 90’s metal alike. The Stare is their most mature, cohesive, solid effort to date. Go check it out.
