Chihei Hatakeyama & Shun Ishiwaka :: Magnificent Little Dudes, Volume 02 (Gearbox)

Atmospheric post-rock guitar and drumming that teeters between jazz and rock combine to form a record that sounds exactly like you would imagine the two to sound like when put together, with good chemistry to make it all work as well as it does.

Both players know when to leave more room for one another

The second installment of Magnificent Little Dudes leaves more of an impression on me than its older brother, which came out in May, does. While I am usually a huge fan of drum improv, the first Magnificent Little Dudes almost had too much of it, leaving little room for Hatakeyama to shine.

On this second record, the balance between the atmospheric elements, provided by Hatakeyama, and the energetic drumming from Ishiwaka is definitely better, as not only do both have moments in which they show off their talents, but the drumming itself also seems to be more in line with what’s happening around it; I make this point because, truth be told, it’s not so easy to shift your attention away from the drums, considering that they’re not only louder than the other instruments, but also because they simply do more in terms of notes being played. Unlike Hatakeyama’s parts, the drums are very fast, so they do stick out a lot. However, there’s definitely some order of controlled chaos here; the drums aren’t constantly spazzing for the whole hour the album lasts, because they do tend to follow along with what’s happening a lot of the times, as already discussed.

Another aspect that balances out the atmosphere with the frisky drumming is how the drums never really get intense and, on the other hand, the guitar work does sometimes become rather tight, so both parts contribute to creating the album’s more climactic highs.

And one more point, since we’re at it, because it’s also worth noting how well the atmosphere and the drumming get along: the drums are sometimes more structured, not resorting to constant improvised soloing, and the guitar provides so much detail and variation that, even though it’s often hard to due to the extensive use of effects, you may as well call that the focal point. This does go back to the idea of great balance between the two, but I do feel the need to emphasize how both parts do a lot, even if you may be tempted to say the opposite, specifically because of the fact that both players know when to leave more room for one another.

Smooth and watery atmosphere ::

One thing I especially like about this LP, other than the improvised drumming which I have always been a huge fan of, is the really smooth and watery atmosphere it creates. The clean tones Hatakeyama gets out of the guitar are pretty great, and while I’m sure there’s dozens of post-rock acts out there who do pretty similar stuff, my knowledge in that field is so minute that the only comparison that came to mind was with Stars of the Lid’s early works, in which the guitar is more distinguishable as such. Despite the ambience that this duo thrives off of, the guitar work of this record is still focused on more proper playing and not just extrapolation of drones or textures; “M5” is a good example of this, because it showcases both worlds, starting off with a lot of emphasis on atmosphere, and later getting more tense as the guitar amps up the noise. The track gets more and more intense as it goes on, making it the album’s ultimate peak of intensity, as the following “M6” is clearly meant to be an outro for the ride you just went through.

I have to give my flowers to the opening “M3,” which is a straight up fantastic piece. While I do think the rest of the record gets a bit monotonous after a while, even despite its distinct moments such as the contrast I just mentioned with the last two tracks, the first track really is a world of its own.

In general, I wish there was more ambient like this, like this whole album really, because even if I may not listen to a whoooole lot of ambient music, most of what I check out ends up in the same old pile of really spacious and big pads with some influences of classical music for good measure; Magnificent Little Dudes, Volume 02 does a much better job thanks to the fact that there’s live playing, improvised live playing at that, so the spark is always on. On “M3” specifically, the way the structure of this piece unfolds is great; there’s a clear direction established beforehand, even though the players may end up improvising throughout the track, but you can tell when they decide to tense things up, when to release this pressure they just created, or when to just immerse you in beautiful ambient atmospheres.

The addition of a cello is a wonderful, wonderful touch, so much so that it makes me wish the whole album featured Cecilia Bignall or that the next installment in the series will feature her again; it is the most melodic component of the whole record, and it achieves that title with such melancholic playing that it’s hard to not get sucked in. I love how drastically it contrasts with the atmosphere underneath, and yet again there’s a beautiful balance between each player, leaving a lot of room for each instruments to shine until they all start giving it their all in the second half of the track. It’s a really emotional piece, as much as I stuck to calling it ambient, but in reality most of this record can’t just be summed up as ambient music.

That leads me back to saying that I do wish a lot more of ambient music was actually as gripping as Magnificent Little Dudes, Volume 02. It’s not a mind-blowing or innovative experience, don’t misunderstand me, but I am happy I can recall where the album gets the most exciting, how it is structured, and, above all, the fact that it’s got a pretty distinct sound.

Atmospheric post-rock guitar and drumming that teeters between jazz and rock combine to form a record that sounds exactly like you would imagine the two to sound like when put together, with good chemistry to make it all work as well as it does.

Magnificent Little Dudes, Volume 02 is available on Gearbox. [Bandcamp]