s t e v e

Here is an interesting new CD that I received in the mail recently. TriPod are a trio from New York. But what makes them unusual is that they don't have a guitarist or keyboardist. Rather the band is made up of a drummer, bassist, and saxophonist (who also plays flute, and clarinet). The band's sound is surprisingly full, and rich, due to the use of bass pedals, and busy 8-string bass riffs. Some influences that come to mind include early King Crimson, and Van Der Graaf Generator. Not that they rip-off riffs, and ideas from those two bands. But rather the saxophonist's style(his choice of notes) is very influenced by that era. His playing has a jazzy, and English, style to it that is rare to hear these days. The vocals surprised me at first but over time became enjoyable. They are similar to Greg Lake, and John Wetton's style in King Crimson. And they have such a vintage-quality that I had to check the CD cover to make sure that this album was recorded recently. The CD contains 9 compositions. Some stand-out tracks include "Rain Parade", which instantly defines TriPod. "Trip The Light" features a quirky, klezmer-ish, section that is fun to listen to. In fact, out of the nine tracks, I only disliked one track entitled "No Side Of Maybe" due to its ballad-quality. Overall, this CD is a welcome relief in modern prog. It's so great to hear the sax as a lead instrument. review by Steve Hegede — undated —

j o e

This band utilizes the unusual trio arrangement of a bassist/vocalist, woodwind player, and drummer. The only other rock band I'm aware of to use this sort of set-up was the eccentric Morphine. Comparatively, TriPod's brand of rock is a bit heavier and more ponderous. Keith Gurland's sax lines at one moment lock in with Clint Bahr's bass to accent power chords, the next moment they space out with jazzy licks; this accounts for an occasional resemblance to a Van Der Graaf Generator without the organ, at least at some points. Bahr sounds surprisingly like Greg Lake, and even reminded me of Roger Daltrey on the middle of one track ("As the Sun"). Musically, the album is composed of some great riffing ("Rain Parade"); catchy, short numbers ("No Side of Maybe"); and tracks with more intricate, progphilic passages ("Trip the Light," "Incident (Suite)"). It also has the duff track or two (as Brandon noted, "A Most Logical Position" is painfully overlong), and the overall affair isn't texturally diverse. On the whole, I found this an enjoyable listen, though probably not something I would have sought out on my own. review by Joe McGlinchey — undated —

b r a n d o n

Everyone likes to harp on how this band has no guitars or keys, and how the sax is the main melodic instrument instead. Okay, so it's a cool novelty group - do they actually write good songs? Actually, yes. TriPod's sound is a quirky blend of pop, prog, jazz, and funk. On the first half of the album, the blend is very successful in creating something new and fun. The first couple of tracks are very nice - fairly high energy, with the sax playing very catchy melodies. The vocals are pretty good, a mix of modern alternative/punk and classic prog sounds, and meld effectively with the music. My favorite track is the fourth, "As the Sun", which opens with a very classic-prog-sounding build-up with a sound that is, momentarily, very vaguely reminiscent of Happy the Man. Unfortunately the second half of the album (after the two-part suite in the middle - even in that piece the first half is much better than the second) doesn't quite follow through on the same level. The low point is the extremely tedious "A Most Logical Position", which sees the rhythm section pounding away at the same few notes over and over again (the drumming shows promise at times but for most of the song fades into a regular, and boring, beat). Overall this album was much better than I expected it to be. It takes its cues from King Crimson's intensity, particularly in some of the sax solos and bass lines, Phish's whimsicality, particularly in the vocals, and fusion and funk in its groove. Not the most evenly successful release ever, but a pleasant surprise and an altogether decent purchase. review by Brandon Wu — 6-27-00 —