CD Reviews

Nico Muhly

Mothertongue | Brassland

By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | July 22, 2008

3.5 Stars

Nico Muhly is too young to realize that classical music is meant to be a gated community. Although he carries a torch for New York’s downtown music, his collaborations with pop figures (like Björk and Antony) have lately given him a greater flexibility. His latest offering is divided into three suites, “Mothertongue,” “Wonders,” and “The Only One,” each of which draws from different eras of musical history and marries classical techniques with pop fragments of folk, electronic, and post-rock. The overlapping layered vocals of Abigail Fisher flow through the title track like a babbling brook — a rolling cascade of street addresses, phone numbers, names of cities and towns. “Wonders” is distinctly Old World, as Muhly illuminates Age of Exploration texts with harpsichord, bringing both the delight of discovery and the fear of the unknown into view. Singer Sam Amidon is the star of “The Only One,” coaxing maximum poignancy from fragments of an American murder ballad as the music shudders and groans around him. It’s a gorgeous performance that anchors Mothertongue with its strength and solemnity. Muhly is a perfect ambassador for a new generation of classical composers — his love of music knows no bounds or limitations.

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ARTICLES BY MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY

THE FALL | YOUR FUTURE OUR CLUTTER | April 27, 2010
If you didn’t know any better, you might think that Your Future Our Clutter is a recording of a raving old lunatic heckling a very solid instrumental band.

SAM AMIDON | I SEE THE SIGN | April 15, 2010
Sam Amidon is fascinated with the songbook of old Americana, and his radical yet tasteful reimaginings of traditional folk ballads and hymns breathe new life into a form often seen as quaint and old-fashioned.

RED SPAROWES | THE FEAR IS EXCRUCIATING, BUT THEREIN LIES THE ANSWER | March 30, 2010
Post-rock bands are like silent-film actors — bereft of words, they tend to use broad gestures to ensure that you get the point.

THESE NEW PURITANS | HIDDEN | March 09, 2010
Hidden is a real UK horror show, mixing grim, industrial beats with mannered, regal horns and a persistent aura of foggy uneasiness. These New Puritans reveal a penchant for æsthetic violence and revolutionary action that, though rarely convincing, matches the uncompromising intensity and martial tenor of the music.