Khlyst
Chaos Is My Name
5
Khlyst's Chaos Is My Name is an album that asks the following question to fans of avant-garde music: just how far down are you willing to follow James Plotkin? If you answer with anything else but, “the absolute bottom,” than you'd be wise to avoid this release. Even for those who take pleasure in unearthing the obscure nugget of listening satisfaction on entirely esoteric and alienating album, Chaos is My Name still offers a daunting challenge
The general blueprint of Chaos is My Name seems to be built around eerie instrumental tracks that are bookended by free-form jazz sections. Providing vocals is 2006's most cred-solidifying name drop material -- Runhild Gammelsaeter. I don't find either the jams or the instrumentals very appealing. The instrumentals remind me of the music my father would play around my house when handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, and I've always thought Gammelsaeter had one of the most gimmicky and ridiculous voices in extreme music.
Plotkin's take on avant-jazz is underwhelming. The man already proved himself to be a master of using negative space to create claustrophobic and emotionally wrenching pieces of music. Here, he just sounds tired and too lazy to put his imagination to work. For the most part these are listless and rambling compositions that Plotkin is selling as experimental. To me, that just seems terribly insincere. If this is an experiment then what is the purpose? To prove that uncoordinated and poorly composed music is boring and hard to listen to? Yeah, man, I already knew that.
Honestly, I'd preferred Plotkin's projects when they forced took listeners and forced them to admit that esoteric and unwelcoming music could still be emotionally satisfying. Khante's Capture and Release is a prime example. Chaos is my Name just seems too superficial and gimmicky to be worthy of this very talented artist's name.
