Prog-Sphere magazine review of The Dominic Didgeridoo Express Project of didgeridooist and guitarist Dominic Gaudious, The Didgeridoo Express is a train that transports us across australian bush yet with a passage to the United States for highly melodic and electrifying adventures. All along the 13 pieces of the album, our ears experience the very particular sound of the didgeridoo, comparable to a croak that is extended in time. The instrument that is honoured on this work is in the end rather discreet, and, with the exception of the organic “Rubber tree” and the tribal “Adrenal fatigue”, is not immersed in the ethnic world it is usually associated with. It doesn’t prevent though this effort to be eclectic and to wander off the beaten path. On many tracks, it’s the guitar that takes the lead, be it with fiery solos (the thunderous “Wild man” and the insolent “Space and time”), unquiet ones (the funky “Big bowl of Jello”), aerial ones (the very relaxed “Northern territory”) or even, what is more surprising, as if they were under the influence of LSD through their hallucinated notes (the psychedelic “Hippie dance music”). In other places, it’s the voice that is the main highlight (on one hand the odes to didgeridoo, brought by male voices on the catchy “I wanna play the didgeridoo” with its blues and rockabilly vibes, and on the prudently moving forward “Feeling really good” with its Beatles-like choirs, on the other hand the imploring “Italy to France” where the passionate voice of Michelle Amato flies away to rejoin the aerial guitar solos, and the cheerful “Still seeking you” where the voice of the female vocalist, possessed this time, amazes the listener). With the opening track, we dive in the musical heritage of the New Orleans with its theme reminding of the marching jazz bands, while the closing track sounds like a jam where the didgeridooist tries some “wah wah” effects with his instrument, backed by funky improvised drumming. In a nutshell, what we have here is a very warm music, that, thanks to the diversity of the voices and the instrumental atmospheres, supported by very crafty rhythms (I didn’t review the drumming above, yet put simply it is just breath-taking in its precision and grooves), is a true breath of fresh air and will quench our never-ending thirst of varied musical sounds. Moreover, have a quick look at the line-up and you will understand that the musicians involved in the project were not born yesterday (Gregg Bissonnette, Stu Hamm, Tony Franklin, Dave Weiner), their experience being certainly an asset to make the music so appealing. -Prog Sphere prog-sphere/reviews/dominic-didgeridoo-express-dominic-didgeridoo-express/
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 15:23:31 +0000
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