Guitarist David Torn, bassist Mick Karn, and drummer Terry Bozio play a total of over 20 instruments in this far-reaching musical experiment, released in 1994 on avant- fusion label CMP Records. Led by Torn's scattered almost-melodies, these ten tracks present a tribal jazz ambiance and near-constant guitar and bass noodling that fans of Torn and Karn's prior work will enjoy. Bozio's expressive percussion stylings are up to the drummer's world-class standard, and carry Polytown beyond the new age oblivion similar records inhabit. Despite the virtuoso, heavily-nuanced performances, however, this challenging collection still might not posses the cohesion necessary to interest listeners unfamiliar with so much obsessive compulsive instrumentalism. There is an uncredited nugget of prose inside the CD case that says it best; "Rivers of warm sand like snakes coil around Polytown often flooding into larger reptiles." Impossibly meaningless, but odd and beautiful -- that's the dichotomy of Polytown. - Vincent Jeffries
Tracks
01. Honey Sweating
02. Palms for Lester
03. Open Letter to the Heart of Diaphora
04. Bandaged by Dreams
05. Warrior Horsemen of the Spirit...
06. Snall Hair Dune
07. This Is the Abduction Scene
08. Red Sleep
09. Res Majuko
10. City of the Dead
MICK KARN fretless bass, bass clarinet, voice
TERRY BOZZIO drums, percussion, noises, samples
DAVID TORN guitar loops, organ, harmonica, koto, piano, voice
All music composed by Terry Bozzio, Mick Karn, David Torn
Recorded between June 25 and July 16, 1993 at White Crow Audio, Burlington
CMP Records - CMP CD 1006. Germany